Stated choice valuations of traffic related noise

Abstract

This paper reports a novel application of the stated choice method to the valuation of road traffic noise. The innovative context used is that of choice between apartments with different levels of traffic noise, view, sunlight and cost with which respondents would be familiar. Stated choice models were developed on both perceived and objective measures of traffic noise, with the former statistically superior, and an extensive econometric analysis has been conducted to assess the nature and extent of householders' heterogeneity of preferences for noise. This found that random taste variation is appreciable but also identified considerable systematic variation in valuations according to income level, household composition and exposure to noise. Self-selectivity is apparent, whereby those with higher marginal values of noise tend to live in quieter apartments. Sign and reference effects were apparent in the relationship between ratings and objective noise measures, presumably reflecting the non-linear nature of the latter. However, there was no strong support for sign, size or reference effects in the valuations of perceived noise levels. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Benefit measures for noise abatement: calculations for road and rail traffic noise

“…5 Only individuals' WTP for a reduction of road traffic noise was estimated for Sweden. The results of the studies revealed a methodological problem.…”

“…Day et al [19] also estimate the theoretically consistent welfare measures for non-marginal changes, the second step in the hedonic method [61]. 6 Examples of other recent SP studies (besides HEATCO) on the evaluation of traffic noise are [5,13,26,27,52], and [37]. 7 To summarize, there is considerable variation in the results in the SP studies, and not always in the direction one expects based on the wealth level of the countries.…”

“…16 In order to transfer the results from Lerum to the rest of Sweden, differences in income between regions ought to be considered. Empirical estimations of income elasticity vary between 0.5-1.6 [5,13,44,57,69]. Since most of the estimations lie in the lower interval and nearer 1, we choose, like [44], to set θ = 1.…”

The influence of sensitivity for road traffic noise on residential location: Does it trigger a process of spatial selection?

“…The ͑negative͒ correlation between house prices and noise levels is a well-known topic of study ͑see, for example, Nelson ͑1982͒ for one of the key studies in this area, or Navrud ͑2002͒ for a literature review͒. Research of Arsenio et al ͑2006͒ in Lisbon yielded a correlation between income level and noise level. Noise sensitivity was not regarded in their research.…”

Empirical valuation of road and roadside environment considering heterogeneous preferences

“…Valuation of non-monetary social costs has become one of rather recent applications of the well-developed random utility choice models using stated preference (SP) data [10][11][12][13]. These are commonly estimated using the versatile multinomial logit model [14].…”