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Air --- Environmental risk assessment. --- Pollution. --- United States.

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We evaluate the effects of disease type and latency on willingness to pay (WTP) to reduce environmental risks of chronic, degenerative disease. Using contingent-valuation data collected from approximately 1,200 respondents in Taiwan, we find that WTP declines with latency between exposure to environmental contaminants and manifestation of any resulting disease, at a 1.5 percent annual rate for a 20 year latency period. WTP to reduce the risk of cancer is estimated to be about one-third larger than WTP to reduce risk of a similar chronic, degenerative disease. The value of risk reduction also depends on the affected organ, environmental pathway, or payment mechanism: estimated WTP to reduce the risk of lung disease due to industrial air pollution is twice as large as WTP to reduce the risk of liver disease due to contaminated drinking water.

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Two surveys conducted in Taiwan during the spring 2003 SARS epidemic reveal a high degree of concern about the threat posed by SARS to Taiwan and to residents, although respondents believe they are knowledgeable about the risk of SARS and that it is susceptible to individual control. WTP to reduce the risk of infection and death from SARS is elicited using contingent valuation methods. Estimated WTP is high, implying values per statistical life of US$3 to 12 million. While consistent with estimates for high-income countries, these values are substantially larger than previous estimates for Taiwan and may be attributable to the high degree of concern about SARS at the time the data were collected.