A modified method to determine the value for sanitation: Case study on the willingness to pay for sanitation in peri-urban households of Peru

Elizabeth Morris; Thanh-Tam Thi Le

doi:10.3362/1756-3488.2012.035

A modified method to determine the value for sanitation: Case study on the willingness to pay for sanitation in peri-urban households of Peru

This study employed the contingent valuation method to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of peri-urban households to improve the method of waste collection in the peri-urban communities of Peru. This was a first attempt at designing a WTP methodology for on-site sanitation to access the willingness to pay a monthly fee for the maintenance and running cost for different types of sanitation technology. The methodology included a ‘bidding game’ method to determine the community's value for sanitation by portraying how an individual will react in a realistic economy with fluctuating costs for materials and facility maintenance. The results indicated that participants valued sanitation and were willing to pay a higher monthly fee to obtain improved sanitation facilities. Results also showed gender differences in hygiene practices, affecting the preferred sanitation technology.

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