Wartościowanie jakości powietrza atmosferycznego w Polsce – badanie stałości preferencji w czasie
Assessment of air quality in Poland: testing preference stability in time

Summary/Abstract: Neoclassical economics, which is the basis for cost-benefit analysis (CBA), developed the concept of subjective value theory, based on the utility of a good for the consumer. Hence, the possibility of valuation of non-market goods, including environmental ones, and transition from methods based on market prices to behavioural linkage methods. The subjective theory of value implies that the value of goods, based on the willingness to pay (WTP), changes over time. It seems, therefore, extremely important to assess the stability of preferences, and thus reconsider the suitability of valuations of environmental goods and services developed in the past for the development of environmental policies and investment programmes ex ante. The purpose of the paper is to compare the results of primary research conducted by the author by means of the contingent valuation method (CVM) in 2007 and 2015, and test the stability of preferences in time. Both studies were held on a nation-wide random sample of 1,000 adults. Face to face interviews were carried out by a professional polling agency. The main goal of the research was to find a household’s average monthly willingness to pay for improved air quality in Poland. The result is that, after taking into account inflation and GDP growth, the mean total WTP from the survey held in 2015 is about 3,121 PLN higher. This means an average annual increase in the average WTP between 2007 and 2015 of 1.79% per annum. It seems that the real growth of the average WTP for clean air is an expression of the social preferences and increased environmental awareness.

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