Willingness to Pay for Adaptation Policy to Prevent the Health Damage Caused by Cold Waves

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to estimate the amount of willingness to pay (WTP) for adaptation policy to reduce the health damage attributable to cold waves using contingent valuation method (CVM). The survey was conducted on 1,500 adult males and females aged from 30 to 75 years old in Wonju, Ganwon Province, Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do, Seoul, Geoje, Gyeongsangnam-do, Namhae, Gyeongsangnam-do, Gwangju from January 23, 2015 to February 13, 2015. In order to solve the problem of treating nonpayment amount, which is common in CVM, we applied the mixed model and estimated the payment amount by the Bayesian method assuming the Weibull distribution. As a result, the average WTP for adaptation policy to prevent the health damage caused by cold waves was 8,492 won per household per year and the median price was 363 won per household. There was a positive relationship between the respondents living in the cold wave areas, the subjective thoughts on the frequency of the cold waves, sex, age, education level and income level of the households. The study of cold wave is insufficient compared to the study of heat wave. Future research should be conducted on health impacts, social burdens of the cold waves and risk based adaptation policies.