Spatial Heterogeneity of Preferences for Sea-Level Rise Adaptation: Empirical Evidence from Yearlong and Seasonal Residents in Florida
Meng, S. & Mozumder, P. (2023) Spatial Heterogeneity of Preferences for Sea-Level Rise Adaptation: Empirical Evidence from Yearlong and Seasonal Residents in Florida. Climate Risk Management, 40: 100515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2023.100515
A growing body of evidence suggests that the global sea level has been increasing at an accelerating rate. This trend, which is linked to global warming, poses a significant threat to the communities living in low elevation coastal areas. This study aims to investigate public preferences and estimate the economic value of sea-level rise (SLR) adaptation projects in Florida. We compute the households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for different attributes of SLR adaptation programs using a series of choice experiments embedded within a household survey of selected communities in Florida. We find strong spatially heterogeneous preferences in both the short-term and long-term adaptation plans. Moreover, Florida’s seasonal residents are willing to pay more than yearlong residents due to their higher risk perceptions and higher income levels. There are few studies in the present literature that compare adaptation preferences across this demographic gradient. Thus, the empirical findings can contribute significantly to the design of optimal adaptation programs and policies to tackle the sea-level rise caused by climate change.
Keywords Climate change adaptation; Sea-level rise; Choice experiment; Spatial heterogeneity; Willingness to Pay (WTP); Yearlong and seasonal residents
Rising Waters, Divergent Perspectives: Understanding Sea Level Rise Concerns and Gender Differences
Preprint available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4457486
The impacts of sea level rise (SLR) are already being felt in many populous and low-lying coastal areas worldwide, making it one of the most pressing threats posed by climate change. While public concerns and perceptions regarding SLR have been widely studied, there remains limited research investigating divergent views on its specific impacts on local communities. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the concerns over the economic, physical, and ecological impacts of SLR through a household survey conducted in Florida. Our findings indicate that residents express the greatest concern about higher insurance premiums, followed by increased contaminants in water supply and destructive storms. Moreover, this study places a special focus on gender differences along with other factors that contribute to heterogeneous concern levels. Our results demonstrate that women exhibit significantly higher levels of concern than men for all potential impacts associated with sea level rise, with the most pronounced differences observed in physical impacts and less pronounced differences in economic impacts. Moreover, the gender gap is greater in low-resilient communities and smaller in high-resilient communities across all impacts. These insights provide valuable guidance for the development of adaptation strategies for sea level rise in coastal areas.
Risk Perceptions of Future Hurricanes: Survey Evidence from the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States
Vásquez, W. F., Murray, T. J., Meng, S., & Mozumder, P. (2018). Risk Perceptions of Future Hurricanes: Survey Evidence from the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. Natural Hazards Review, 19(1). https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000260
This study investigates the determinants that shape individual risk perceptions of future hurricanes and hurricane-related impacts in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States. Using a survey of 1,143 respondents, regression models are estimated to identify the socioeconomic, demographic, and experiential variables associated with the degree of risk perception of future hurricane landfalls and their subsequent impacts. Individuals perceive a greater degree of risk if they have previously evacuated because of a hurricane, live in a flood zone, are female, and have greater educational attainment. Household income and household composition do not seem to impact risk perception measures; however, African American respondents exhibit a lesser degree of risk perception of future hurricanes and the impacts associated with those hurricanes. The implications of the study results for identifying the segment of the population that underestimate the risk of future hurricanes and hurricane-related impacts are discussed.