Comparing Expressed and Revealed Preferences for Risk Reduction: Different Hazards and Question Frames

Studies often note the wide differences that exist in costs per death avoided across U.S. federal programs and regulatory contexts. This paper explores two new, related explanations for these differences. First, it argues that the patterns of revealed preferences (public allocations) may be related to public values, which are measured here through subjects' expressed preference responses to a contingent valuation survey regarding risk reduction. Subjects' expressed values are compared to actual (and proposed) costs of safety regulations for a similar set of hazards. We discover strong congruence in the ranking of expressed values and actual values. Second, the paper presents the results of a subsequent survey that investigates why the patterns observed in the first survey might occur. It suggests that one reason for the observed similarities between revealed and expressed preferences may be in how choices are framed. The paper hypothesizes that both subjects and decision makers may frame valuation decisions in the same way: as percentage changes from the reference point provided by the base rate of deaths for that hazard.     

QALYs versus WTP.

Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and willingness to pay (WTP) are alternative measures of the value of reductions in health risk that are often used in evaluating environmental, health, and safety practices. Although both methods are based on individual preferences, the underlying assumptions differ. The different bases yield systematically different conclusions about the relative value of reducing health and mortality risks to individuals that differ in age, preexisting health conditions, income, and other factors. The choice of which method to use depends on judgments about what constraints should be placed on individual preferences and what factors should be considered in aggregating preferences across people.     

人口红利、产业承接与农村劳动力就近转移——以成都城乡统筹试验区为背景

随着西部经济发展及中部地区的崛起。东部地区产业向中西部转移,中西部地区参与人口红利再分配成为必然。鉴于此。有必要及时调整农村就业政策,将农村劳动力就近转移作为一项主要的就业政策,以促进产业转移的顺利进行和人口红利的高效再分配。     

我国区际劳动力流动对经济增长的影响—就业结构变动效应的视角

改革开放以来,大量劳动力由中西部地区的农业部门流向东部沿海发达地区的非农部门,同步实现劳动力的乡城迁移和产业转移,这既是我国市场经济发展、二元经济结构转换的必然结果,也是支撑我国国民经济增长的一个重要机制。研究结果表明。80年代中期以来,随着我国区际劳动力流动日益活跃,劳动力就业结构效应对国民经济总量增长的贡献率呈加强趋势。消除限制区际劳动力流动的各种障碍,进一步增强我国区域问劳动力流动性,是促进国民经济持续快速发展的应时之举。     

新疆的劳动力市场和少数民族劳动者

中国劳动力市场的一个突出特点就是其分割性,这种“分割性”具体表现在城乡之间的分割、城市内部之间的分割、农村内部之间的分割。本文以新疆劳动力市场为例,考察了劳动力市场的地区分割,特别是民族地区劳动力市场的特点及其产生的主要问题。新疆劳动力市场呈现出民族成分构成较高,劳动者主要集中在第一和第二产业就业,人力资本投资普遍不足的特点。从劳动力市场指标来看,新疆的失业率水平虽然总体比较平稳,但是少数民族劳动者的失业率较高。他们的工资水平较低,流动意愿也不高,这进一步阻碍了其提高收入和改善经济地位的可能性。政府在制定宏观劳动政策时必须注意这些特点,改善劳动力市场中弱势群体的经济地位。     

劳工NGO对农民工权益保障的价值和限度

在当代中国,政府无论是对劳资事务的监管还是保障农民工合法权益行动,存在许多局限性,均会出现政府失灵的问题,它需要劳工NGO予以回应。而劳工NGO参与社会公共事务治理,尤其是其人性化志愿服务能有效地为农民工提供社会网络支持、情感支持,提升其法律意识,降低可能的暴力维权行动,这对政府劳资事务治理和实现社会稳定有积极意义。但现行非政府组织政策环境限制其参与保障农民工合法权益的活动,同时,劳工NGO大多缺少合法身份和资源,制约其与政府良性互动,降低其作用的发挥。     

Effects of Risk Representation and Scope on Willingness to Pay for Reduced Risks: Evidence from Tokyo Bay, Japan

When applying the contingent valuation method (CVM) in risk reduction studies, some studies report that willingness to pay (WTP) is insensitive to the magnitude of risk reduction while other studies do not. On the other hand, social-psychological research has shown that the affect heuristic biases judgments on probability, relative frequency, and risk. This article examines both magnitude (or scope) effect and affect heuristic (or representation) effect on WTP for risk reduction measures against tsunamis by introducing two experimental (i.e., absolute and relative) systems with four different representations to evaluate public behaviors in two different scenarios of risk reduction. Two common denominators (100 and 10,000) are introduced into absolute risk reduction representation (i.e., "of every 100 persons, from present 2 deaths to 1") to form different formats (i.e., "of every 10,000 persons from 200 to 100," and "of every 100,000 persons from 2,000 deaths to 1,000"). There is little evidence that WTP estimates are sufficiently sensitive to the magnitude of risk reduction, but relative risk reduction representations may be better than the absolute one given in CVM mail surveys when the risk is small. There is a statistically insignificant effect of risk reduction representations on respondent frequency, but mixed effects on the monetary values of WTP at the level of 0.05. The representation effect of absolute risk reduction on the WTP value varies with the common denominator. The larger the common denominator, the less the WTP to reduce the risk of tsunamis, and the significance probability is improved to less than the level of 0.05 when the common denominator becomes large enough. The findings suggest that improved methods are required for estimating the rates of tradeoff between fatality risk and other goods among consumers.     

Behavioral Economics and Regulatory Analysis

Behavioral economics has captured the interest of scholars and the general public by demonstrating ways in which individuals make decisions that appear irrational. While increasing attention is being focused on the implications of this research for the design of risk‐reducing policies, less attention has been paid to how it affects the economic valuation of policy consequences. This article considers the latter issue, reviewing the behavioral economics literature and discussing its implications for the conduct of benefit‐cost analysis, particularly in the context of environmental, health, and safety regulations. We explore three concerns: using estimates of willingness to pay or willingness to accept compensation for valuation, considering the psychological aspects of risk when valuing mortality‐risk reductions, and discounting future consequences. In each case, we take the perspective that analysts should avoid making judgments about whether values are “rational” or “irrational.” Instead, they should make every effort to rely on well‐designed studies, using ranges, sensitivity analysis, or probabilistic modeling to reflect uncertainty. More generally, behavioral research has led some to argue for a more paternalistic approach to policy analysis. We argue instead for continued focus on describing the preferences of those affected, while working to ensure that these preferences are based on knowledge and careful reflection.     

中国农户收入增长与就业决策行为：一个动态解释—基于湖北农户跟踪调查的实证研究

 本文围绕着农户家庭收入增长和劳动就业决策行为的动态关系而展开,笔者在设定一个基本理论框架的基础上提出了两个基本假说,进而引出了经验分析。本项研究利用2001—2006年湖北15个村庄的900户农户跟踪调查的面板数据,研究发现：（1）农户家庭是一个理性的微观经济组织。（2）处于外生政策变动中的农户经济组织是一个完整的经济系统,它在外部经济条件的冲击下表现出比较稳定的“状态依赖”特征。当前中国农村形成了“农村就业两端刚性”的趋势。（3）从短期来看,外部支农政策冲击并没有从本质上改变农户家庭的就业决策行为。（4）中国农村家庭就业行为决策是本质上的理性和表现上的非理性的统一。     

对中国消费者非转基因菜油支付意愿的研究

有关中国消费者关于转基因食品接受度的资料非常有限.本文则首次尝试对中国消费者关于非转基因(non-GM)食用油的支付意愿(WTP)问题进行评估.通过对北京的671个消费者进行调查采访,运用假设评价方法(contingent valuation),可推导出消费者对非转基因菜油的支付意愿.为避免调查者无响应引起的偏差,运用了双变量概率选择模式对调查数据进行分析.研究结果表明,消费者对非转基因菜油的支付意愿受到了许多因素的影响,比如价格、风险意识、受教育程度和知识水平等等.计算所得的WTP显示,平均而言,被调查者愿意支付33%的额外费用来消费非转基因菜油.这一结果表明,中国消费者对转基因油持有相当怀疑的态度.