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In this paper we provide the first estimate of the intertemporal substitution for leisure in Spain, accounting for the impact of human capital accumulation. This would allow uncovering whether the intertemporal labour supply of Spanish workers is affected by human capital. Our empirical strategy consists of estimating the equation for the intertemporal substitution of leisure with and without accounting for human capital, what allows to detect hypothetical estimation biases associated to omitting the impact of human capital. To that end, we build a pseudo-panel data set combining the Spanish Family Expenditure Survey and the Labour Survey over the period 1987–1997. While the model that ignores human capital accumulation provides an estimate of the intertemporal elasticity of substitution for leisure about 0.25, comparable to previously available estimates for Spain and other economies, the model with human capital provides an estimate about 0.5, what confirms the existence of a bias in the former estimates. Finally, this bias is larger for the younger cohorts than for the older ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the value of statistical life (VSL) on a road traffic accident using the Contingent Valuation/Standard Gamble chained approach. A large representative sample (n = 2020) is used to calculate a VSL for use in the evaluation of road safety programmes in Spain. The paper also makes some methodological contributions, by providing new evidence about the consistency of the chained method. Our main results are: (1) A range from 1.3 million euro to 1.7 million euro is obtained for the VSL in Spain in the context of road accidents. This range is in line with the values used in the same context in other European countries, although it is lower than those obtained in different contexts and with other methods. (2) The method performs much better in terms of scope sensitivity than the traditional contingent valuation method, which asks subjects about their willingness to pay for very small reductions in the risk of death. (3) We introduce a new 'indirect' chaining approach which reduces (but does not remove) the disparity between direct and indirect chaining approaches. More extreme VSL estimates are still obtained with this indirect method than with the direct one. (4) VSL estimates depend on the injury used. More specifically, we obtained a lower VSL when a more severe injury is used. (5) Framing the risk of death in the modified standard gamble question as "10n in 10,000" instead of "n in 1000" influences the value of VSL. We attribute this effect to the Ratio Bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The main aims of this paper are to analyse the monetary value of informal care time using different techniques and to identify significant variables associated with the number of caregiving hours. Data and methods: A multicentre study in two Spanish regions in adult caregivers was conducted. A total sample of 604 people was available. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify the variables associated with the number of hours of caregiving time. In the monetary valuation of informal care provided, three approaches were used: replacement cost method, opportunity cost and contingent valuation (willingness to pay and willingness to accept). Results: The main determinants of the amount of time of informal care provided were age, gender, the level of care receiver´s dependence and the professional care services received (at home and out of home). The value estimated for informal care time ranges from EUROS 80,247 (replacement cost method) to EUROS 14,325 (willingness to pay), with intermediate values of EUROS 27,140 and EUROS 29,343 (opportunity cost and willingness to accept, respectively). Several sensitivity analyses were performed over the base cases, confirming the previous results. Conclusions: Time of informal care represents a great social value, regardless of the applied technique. However, the results can differ strongly depending on the technique chosen. Therefore, the choice of technique of valuation is not neutral. Among the determinants of informal care time, the professional care received at home has a complementary character to informal care, while the formal care outside the home has a substitute character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fibromyalgia is a chronic rheumatic disease of unknown aetiology, highly disabling and mainly affecting women. The aim of our work is to estimate, on a national scale, the economic impact of this disease on the employment of patients and non-professional (informal) care dimension. Methods: Survey on Disabilities, Autonomy and Dependency carried out in Spain in 2020/21 was used to obtain information on disabled individuals with AD and their informal caregivers. Six estimation scenarios were defined as base case, depending on whether the maximum daily informal caregiving time was censored or not, and on the approach chosen for the valuation of informal caregiving time (contingent valuation and replacement time). Another six conservative scenarios were developed using the minimum wage for the estimation of labour losses. Results: Our estimates range from 2,443.6 (willingness to pay, censored informal care time) to 7,164.8 million euros (replacement cost, uncensored informal care time) (base year 2021). Multivariate analyses identified that the degree of dependency of the person suffering from fibromyalgia is the main explanatory variable for both the probability of being employed and the time spent in informal care. Conservative scenarios estimates range from 1,807 to 6,528 million euros. Conclusions: The high economic impact revealed should help to position a health problem that is relatively unknown in society and for which there are significant research and care gaps to be filled. Key Points: We estimate at national level (Spain) the economic impact of fibromyalgia on two dimensions: labour losses of patients and the value of informal care. Our estimates range from 2,443.6 (more conservative scenario in the base case) to 7,164.8 million euros (less conservative scenario in the base case) (base year 2021). The degree of dependency of the person suffering from fibromyalgia is the main explanatory variable for both the probability of being employed and the time spent in informal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse parental school preferences in two contiguous provinces of northern Spain, which offer very different school choices since only one of them is bilingual. Basque-Spanish bilingualism affects the school system, labour market, and, consequently, family budgets in the Basque Country. In Cantabria, Spanish is the only official language, and English is the second language typically offered in the school system. Using two discrete choice experiments applied to school choice, we estimate parents' willingness to pay for different school characteristics in the two areas. We find that the most highly valued school characteristic in both areas is the language of instruction, but in the Basque Country, where the minority language indirectly has a wage premium in the local labour market, its importance relative to other characteristics is more salient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the temporal stability of willingness to pay estimates (WTP) under changing economic conditions. Specifically, two questions are addressed: a) is WTP stable over time? And b) if it is not, are the changes just driven by socio-economic effects, or something else? In order to investigate these questions, we used data from the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) study conducted after the Prestige oil spill in Spain in 2006, and a second wave of the same survey repeated in 2009, after Spain entered a serious recession. Median WTP estimates dropped from €60.36 in 2006 to €26.92 in 2009 per household, a statistically significant reduction. To investigate the amount of the drop in WTP due to observables versus changes in preferences between 2006 and 2009, we use the 2006 logit WTP coefficient estimates with 2009 levels of the independent variables and we obtain a WTP of €46.37. This estimate is statistically different from the 2009 estimate (€26.92). In the same fashion, by using 2009 logit WTP coefficients with 2006 data, we obtain an estimate of €50.29, also different from the 2006 estimate. Implications of these findings for temporal stability of welfare measures and benefit transfer exercises are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bias related to the hypothetical setting remains controversial regarding the reliability and validity of value estimates from discrete choice experiments (DCEs). This has motivated a large body of literature to investigate approaches for mitigating hypothetical and strategic bias. Our study provides further evidence to inform this debate by testing whether a combination of ex‐ante or ex‐post mitigation strategies might be effective in reducing bias in DCEs. Specifically, we employ individual and multiple ex‐ante reminders alongside an ex‐post data treatment and analyse how their individual or joint use affects willingness to pay (WTP) estimates. The econometric analysis makes use of innovative semi‐parametric logit‐mixed logit in addition to the state‐of‐the‐art mixed logit model. The empirical case study focuses on preferences for the environmental and social impacts of organic olive production. By comparing the three experimental treatments with a control treatment, we test whether ex‐ante cheap talk, a reminder of the project's relative spatial extent, or a combination of both affect stated WTP. In addition, we use an ex‐post data treatment to correct WTP estimates. WTP estimates of treatments related to ex‐ante mitigation strategies did not differ significantly from those obtained from a control treatment with standard budget constraint reminders. However, the ex‐post approach results in a significant reduction in mean WTP estimates and is used to investigate whether the observed choice inconsistencies are due to unintentional errors or strategic behaviour. We argue that ex‐post mechanisms deserve greater attention and highlight the need to distinguish strategic behaviour from other sources of hypothetical bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We applied discrete choice contingent valuation to the amenities consumed by non-industrial private forest owners in Andalusia (Spain) in a survey of 765 landowners. The landowners' median willingness to accept compensation from an alternative investment for giving up land amenity consumption is EUR 387.8 per hectare yearly. The preferred model shows diminishing marginal values of amenity consumption with property size, negative effects of eucalyptus and Aleppo pine presence and positive effects of distance to urban centres. We discuss the performance of the question formats and models employed and recommend the single-bounded format in this valuation context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • One hundred and seventy farmers were interviewed in a region of southeast Spain. • Farmers were asked about diffuse pollution mitigation measures and their willingness to be compensated. • The perceived and real costs of the measures are compared by cost effectiveness ratios. • The policy should take into account the differences between crops, impact of the measures and farmers' aptitude. Diffuse water pollution is a major problem in many agroecosystems, especially in irrigated areas linked to ecosystems of high ecological value. Pollution abatement policies imply the modification of agricultural measures and are usually rejected by farmers because of their impact on farm profitability. This paper aims to design an assessment procedure for an implementation programme of agricultural measures aimed at mitigating diffuse pollution, by combining relative effectiveness across measures with the perceived and real cost of the measures. Measures proposed by a law intended to mitigate diffuse pollution and thereby the degradation of the Mar Menor lagoon, a unique natural space in the southeast of Spain, have been used as a case study. The real cost was obtained from the market, and the perceived cost of the measures was obtained from a representative sample of the farmers involved. This work has allowed comparative real and perceived evaluations of the cost-effectiveness of the proposed measures to prioritise them and to reduce information bias, aimed to favours measures adoption. Results show that banning crops less than 100 m from the coast is the most cost-effective measure, followed by the adoption of a nitrate reduction system in desalinated effluent. Divergences between real and perceived cost-effectiveness indicates that good agricultural practices code adoption would require specific actions to reduce these subjective gap. Finally, increasing the acceptability of the policy would imply translating to the farmers information required to reduce the gap between real and perceived cost of the specific agricultural measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Economic valuation assumes preference stability which is not confirmed by evidence. • We show that this is also the case for long-term water quality improvements. • Preference instability might reflect policy failures and not breach economic theory. • Policy inefficacy might increase protest behavior and decrease willingness to pay. • Economic valuation should consider potential biases from management performance. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) establishes that Programme of Measures (PoMs) to manage aquatic ecosystems have to be assessed to determine whether the benefits obtained from the good ecological status outweigh the costs. Stated preference methods have been widely applied to estimate non-market benefits of improved ecological status, assuming that respondents declare their true preferences that are stable over time. However, evidence on preference stability is mixed in the literature. The objective of this paper is to study preference stability towards water bodies improvement. As the WFD implementation has been delayed and have proven to be a greater challenge than expected, we focus on the effects of policy implementation failures on preference stability. We analyse two contingent valuation surveys to assess environmental values for the case of the Mar Menor (SE Spain) in years 2010 and 2017. We find higher protest response rate, changing indirect utility functions towards good ecological status and decreased WTPs in 2017. It indicates that public valuation might fail to adhere to rational economic premises when public authorities fail to reach environmental objectives and/or PoMs are not correctly implemented. Decision making based on stated preferences should carefully consider potential biases emerging from management performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public demand for harvesting wild edible mushrooms has risen in recent decades and currently affects many forested areas around the world. The idea of introducing permits for users has been conceived as a tool for ecosystem management. The problem is that policy-makers lack the necessary means to help guide them when establishing prices for such harvesting permits. Valuing the recreational benefits which mushroom harvesters derive from harvesting wild edible mushrooms may provide certain guidelines as to how much people would be willing to pay and may also justify future payments levied on harvesters. The aim of the present article is to estimate a model for determining citizens' willingness to pay for a harvesting permit in a forest in Andalusia (Spain) using contingent valuation methods. Results show that mean willingness to pay is 22.61 Euros (kUSD28.18) per harvester and season. This amount depends on several socioeconomic factors and preferences related to harvesters' experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is difficult for small municipalities to ensure their urban water cycle complies with the principle of cost recovery established in the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive. Unlike more populous municipalities, small municipalities face higher average production costs. However, at least in Spain, the price of water is, on average, lower in small municipalities. We question whether the low price of water in rural areas is due, at least in part, to people linked to agriculture, i.e., do farmers constitute a special interest group that hinders increases in the price of water? The main hypothesis was tested with data taken from Torre-Cardela, a municipality in southern Spain with close to 800 inhabitants. In the research a contingent valuation analysis was carried out to analyze respondents' willingness to pay in the event of a hypothetical increase in the price of water to help cover the service costs. Contrary to expectations, the study yields no evidence that the agricultural population is more resistant to price rises than the rest of the citizens surveyed. In fact, results show that people involved in the agricultural sector would be willing to accept a hypothetical increase in water tariffs in between 15% and 25% over the current tariff, while for the rest of the population this same increase would be lower (in between 9% and 20%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]