How much will the residents pay for clean energy? Empirical study using the double bound dichotomous choice method for Tianjin, China

摘要

Production cost has always been a critical factor affecting the development of clean energy. It is a relatively complex issue if there needs to be a policy adjustment as it is highly correlated with the economic development and financial situation of the government, as well as customer willingness to pay (WTP) for clean energy. This study investigated whether residents in Tianjin were willing to pay for clean energy by using the theoretical framework of the double-bounded dichotomous choice (DBDC) method. It constructs a maximum likelihood estimation function model, which can then be used to calculate the WTP and identify the factors affecting it using the logit model. Furthermore, we compared the model results with a previous study based on the open ended (OE) method. This current survey collected a sample of 682 respondents, 474 of which were willing to pay for clean energy. The average WTP was 11.51$/month, which was heavily influenced by belief, knowledge, education, income, and other variables. Although the WTP varied after analyzing different questionnaires, the factors affecting it were similar. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.