CSTPR/IBS-ESP Noontime seminar
"Estimating non-market values under scenario and policy uncertainty: the case of climate change mitigation in Australia"

by Sonia Akter
Austrailian National University

September 28, 2009
12:00 pm
Center for Science and Technology Policy Research Conference Room
click here for directions

Sonia Akter, Crawford School of Economics and Government at Austrailian National University, will give a talk on "Estimating non-market values under scenario and policy uncertainty: the case of climate change mitigation in Australia" on Monday, September 28, 2009. The talk will be from 12:00 - 1:00 pm in the CSTPR Conference Room.

The talk is free and open to the public and will be held at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research's conference room. Click here for directions.

This will be a "brown bag seminar". Feel free to bring your lunches if you wish. This series is being co-sponsored by the CIRES Center for Science and Technology Policy Research and the Institute of Behavioral Science, Environment and Society Program.

Abstract: Stated preference studies are carried out in situations where the future scenario and the effectiveness of a policy intervention to correct the scenario are not known with certainty. The research reported in this paper aims to investigate the influences of scenario and policy uncertainty on individuals’ decisions to support a policy intervention. The decision model was constructed by extending the non-expected utility framework proposed by Riddel and Shaw (2006). Empirical testing of the decision model was carried out in Australia using a contingent valuation study of a national ‘Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS)’. The results of the study convey that, in addition to the subjective mean and variance of scenario expectation, respondents’ perceptions of policy effectiveness can also significantly influence their willingness to pay (WTP). Ignoring this element may potentially lead to the overestimation of the economic benefits to be obtained from public policy intervention.   

Biography: Sonia Akter is currently a PhD student in the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University. She obtained her Masters degree in Economics from York University, Toronto, Canada. Prior to the commencement of her PhD, she worked as a lecturer in the Department of Economics, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from the year 2003 until 2006. During that period, she also worked on several development-policy oriented research projects in Bangladesh investigating adaptation measures to increased climate change risks. Her PhD research focuses on public preference of climate change mitigation policy in Australia. More specifically, she is investigating how uncertainty associated with climate change affects individual preferences for mitigation measures.