title: Household's willingness to pay for arsenic safe drinking water in Bangladesh.
abstract: This study examines willingness to pay (WTP) in Bangladesh for arsenic (As) safe drinking water across different As-risk zones, applying a double bound discrete choice value elicitation approach. The study aims to provide a robust estimate of the benefits of As safe drinking water supply, which is compared to the results from a similar study published almost 10 years ago using a single bound estimation procedure. Tests show that the double bound valuation design does not suffer from anchoring or incentive incompatibility effects. Health risk awareness levels are high and households are willing to pay on average about 5 percent of their disposable average annual household income for As safe drinking water. Important factors influencing WTP include the bid amount to construct communal deep tubewell for As safe water supply, the risk zone where respondents live, household income, water consumption, awareness of water source contamination, whether household members are affected by As contamination, and whether they already take mitigation measures.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Dübendorf, Switzerland; Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Electronic address: nasreen.khan@anu.edu.au.
authors.forename: Nasreen Islam
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Economics, Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brouwer
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000517:prevention & control; D001459:Bangladesh; D003625:Data Collection; D004326:Drinking; D060766:Drinking Water; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011639:Public Opinion; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000191:economics; D014876:Water Pollution; D014881:Water Supply / Q000191:economics*
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; Bangladesh; Contingent valuation; Drinking water; Health risks; Willingness to pay