Reports
Discussion Papers
No.641 Can money always talk? Implication for environmental compensation by international agribusiness
by Li ZHOU and Lei Lei
April 2017
ABSTRACT
With the development of agricultural industrialization, the environmental issues of intensive animal farming are attracting increasing attention. Using survey data from 313 Chinese households living near the large-scale broiler farms of an international food company, this paper employs a contingent valuation method and discrete choice experiment to quantify the willingness to accept an air pollution compensation scheme. We find the following. (1) 42% of respondents have a nonmonetary preference for compensation; thus, the conventional contingent valuation method is unsuitable for application to them. (2) The results of a probit and tobit model show that in addition to income, “trust and perception” dominate decision-making based on willingness to accept; however, the effect of actual distance is weak. (3) Because of the positive externalities of roads, schools, and job opportunities, the combination of nonmonetary options is feasible and beneficial for both sides (the company and households) in the long term. Thus, from the perspective of the global value chain, it is worth studying nonmonetary compensation strategies in order to explore the sustainable development strategies of multinational corporations.
Keywords: willingness to accept; CVM; choice experiment; global value chain; pollution; China
JEL classification: F23, Q12, Q51
PDF available at http://hdl.handle.net/2344/00048855
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.