Assessing Management Options for Weed Control with Demanders and Non-Demanders in a Choice Experiment

The yellow floating heart is a water weed causing nuisance problems in Swedish watercourses. An economic analysis where various management options are considered is required. Using a choice experiment, we estimate the benefits of a weed-management program and perform a cost-benefit analysis. In order to be able to distinguish between those who have a demand for a program from those who do not, we introduce a way to distinguish demanders from non-demanders in the choice experiments. Using a simple cost-benefit rule, we find that cutting the weed in certain places in the lake can be justified.