Willingness-to-Pay and Preference Heterogeneity for Service Attributes of Solid Waste Management: An Experience in Kolkata, India

The effects of various socioeconomic characteristics on Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) values for service attributes of Solid Waste Management (SWM) were evaluated in this study. The Stated Choice (SC) data collected from respondents in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area, India were analyzed using Random Parameter Logit (RPL) models. Education and household income were found to have statistically significant decomposition effects on mean estimates of several SWM attributes. High income and/or high education were well-correlated to higher WTP values for most of the service attributes. The results show that due consideration to socioeconomic characteristics is necessary while formulating measures for improvement of SWM service in an urban area. This work also demonstrates potential application of RPL models for investigating the effect of socioeconomic characteristics on WTP values, and successful application of constrained triangular distribution in RPL models.