Willingness to pay for reliable supplies of safe drinking water in Guatemala: A referendum contingent valuation study |
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Authors: | William F. Vásquez Ricardo Espaillat |
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Affiliation: | Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT, USA |
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Abstract: | Unreliability of water systems has become a major concern in many developing countries. A referendum-format contingent valuation (CV) survey was implemented to investigate household preferences, in monetary terms, for improved water services in the small town of San Lorenzo, Guatemala. A random sample of 500 households report that they currently adopt a variety of averting measures (e.g. in-home water storage and treatment) to cope with service interruptions and low water quality. Findings also indicate that households are willing to pay an increase of more than 200% in their water bill for reliable supplies of safe drinking water. |
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Keywords: | drinking water system reliability contingent valuation household preferences Guatemala |
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