Willingness to pay for birdsong

Higney, Anthony; Gerling, Charlotte; Buchan, Claire; Butler, Simon; Crowther, Liam; Marselle, Melissa; Ratcliffe, Eleanor; Uebel, Konrad; Hanley, Nick

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2026.109125

Willingness to pay for birdsong

Tools

Higney, Anthony, Gerling, Charlotte, Buchan, Claire ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6530-9971, Butler, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5111-5639, Crowther, Liam, Marselle, Melissa, Ratcliffe, Eleanor, Uebel, Konrad and Hanley, Nick (2026) Willingness to pay for birdsong. Ecological Economics, 250. ISSN 0921-8009

[thumbnail of 1-s2.0-S0921800926002107-main]

Preview

PDF (1-s2.0-S0921800926002107-main) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (5MB) | Preview

Abstract

We present the first estimate of the causal effect of auditory sensation on willingness to pay and the first estimate of the marginal value of bird song, using constructed soundscapes. We compare willingness to pay values for increases in bird wildlife habitat quality and quantity between samples where respondents are played recordings of soundscapes compared to respondents who do not get to listen to these simulated soundscapes. Willingness to pay for habitat quality enhancements were found to be significantly larger in the treated “with soundscapes” sample, mainly due to treatment reducing cost sensitivity. Methodologically, this paper reports on the use of simulated soundscapes in choice experiments as a means of increasing the information respondents have before making their choices.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data availability: Data will be made available on request.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	birdsong,discrete choice experiments,eco-acoustics,ecosystem services,non-market valuation,q23,q24,q51,q57,willingness to pay (wtp),general environmental science,economics and econometrics ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2300
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment
Related URLs:	https://www.scopus.com/pages/publication...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	06 Aug 2026 14:07
Last Modified:	07 Aug 2026 12:41
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104027
DOI:	10.1016/j.ecolecon.2026.109125

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item