TY - JOUR
T1 - The Individual Travel Cost Method with Consumer-Specific Values of Travel Time Savings
AU - Czajkowski, Mikołaj
AU - Giergiczny, Marek
AU - Kronenberg, Jakub
AU - Englin, Jeffrey
N1 - Funding Information:
The data used in this study was collected in a project funded by the Polish National Science Centre (Grant N N112 29233)9. We thank the participants of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists’ conference, Toulouse, June 2013 for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. Mikołaj Czajkowski gratefully acknowledges the support of the National Science Centre of Poland (Sonata Bis, 2018/30/E/HS4/00388).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The Author(s).
PY - 2019/11/1
Y1 - 2019/11/1
N2 - The treatment of the opportunity cost of travel time in travel cost models has been an area of research interest for many decades. Our analysis develops a methodology to combine the travel distance and travel time data with respondent-specific estimates of the value of travel time savings (VTTS). The individual VTTS are elicited with the use of discrete choice stated preference methods. The travel time valuation procedure is integrated into the travel cost valuation exercise to create a two-equation structural model of site valuation. Since the travel time equation of the structural model incorporates individual preference heterogeneity, the full structure model provides a travel cost site demand model based upon individualized values of time. The methodology is illustrated in a study of recreational birdwatching, more specifically, visits to a ‘stork village’ in Poland. We show that the usual practice of basing respondents’ VTTS on 1/3 of their wage rate is largely unfounded and propose alternatives—including a separate component of the travel cost survey aimed at valuation of respondents’ VTTS or, as a second best, asking if they wish if their journey was shorter and for those who do—use full hourly wage as an indicator of their VTTS.
AB - The treatment of the opportunity cost of travel time in travel cost models has been an area of research interest for many decades. Our analysis develops a methodology to combine the travel distance and travel time data with respondent-specific estimates of the value of travel time savings (VTTS). The individual VTTS are elicited with the use of discrete choice stated preference methods. The travel time valuation procedure is integrated into the travel cost valuation exercise to create a two-equation structural model of site valuation. Since the travel time equation of the structural model incorporates individual preference heterogeneity, the full structure model provides a travel cost site demand model based upon individualized values of time. The methodology is illustrated in a study of recreational birdwatching, more specifically, visits to a ‘stork village’ in Poland. We show that the usual practice of basing respondents’ VTTS on 1/3 of their wage rate is largely unfounded and propose alternatives—including a separate component of the travel cost survey aimed at valuation of respondents’ VTTS or, as a second best, asking if they wish if their journey was shorter and for those who do—use full hourly wage as an indicator of their VTTS.
KW - Discrete choice experiment
KW - Individual-specific values of travel time savings
KW - Integration of valuation methods
KW - Opportunity cost of travel time
KW - Recreational birdwatching
KW - Travel cost method
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U2 - 10.1007/s10640-019-00355-6
DO - 10.1007/s10640-019-00355-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85068139818
SN - 0924-6460
VL - 74
SP - 961
EP - 984
JO - Environmental and Resource Economics
JF - Environmental and Resource Economics
IS - 3
ER -