The security of natural gas supply is an important issue for all EU countries due to the region’s heavy dependence on imported supply sources and in light of energy demand for gas that is continuously increasing. Discussions have emphasised strategies for securing the supply at the macro...

This study adopts a discrete choice modelling methodology to evaluate individuals’ preferences over planning alternatives for an urban site of environmental interest. Since such projects involve some uncertainty and irreversibility, a special attention is devoted to the estimation of the...

The role of economic analysis in guiding the sustainable development of estuarine and coastal ecosystems is investigated based on a comprehensive review of the literature on the valuation of the recreation, cultural and aesthetic services. The implications of the findings for the sustainable...

The paper examines the use of choice experiments (CE) to assess the economic value of alternative rail noise reduction interventions on the so-called Brennero railway, Italy. The novelty of this paper is threefold. To our knowledge, this is the first study on the valuation of noise conducted in...

This paper presents a choice experiment, which values reductions in mortality risk on Alpine roads. These roads are on one hand threatened by common road hazards, on the other hand they are also endangered by natural hazards such as avalanches and rockfalls. Drawing on choice data from...

The opportunity Value of Travel Time (VTT) is one of the most important parts of the total cost of day-long recreational activities and arguably the most difficult to estimate. While numerous studies have criticized the use of salaries to proxy the relevant shadow values, a consensus on an...

This paper provides an assessment of the economic value of the oceanographic services provided by the Mediterranean operational forecasting system, MFSTEP. The main purpose of this exploratory study is to carry out a cost-benefit analysis for different development scenarios, by comparing the...

We use contingent valuation to elicit WTP for a reduction in the risk of dying for cardiovascular and respiratory causes, the most important causes of premature mortality associated with heat wave and air pollution, among the Italian public. The purpose of this study is three-fold. First, we...

The paper focuses on the ongoing debate on non-market valuation, including the valuation environmental goods, and the opportunity to use contingent valuation for policy guidance. In fact, contingent valuation critics argue that reported willingness to pay answers do not reflect real economic...

Sensitivity (proportionality) of willingness to pay to (small) risk changes is often used as a criterion to test for valid measures of economic preferences. In a contingent valuation (CV) study conducted in Austria in February 2005 1,005 respondents were asked their willingness to pay (WTP) for...