Combining socio-acoustic and contingent valuation surveys to value noise reduction

A combination of a socio-acoustic survey on self-reported noise annoyance and a contingent valuation questionnaire is used to estimate willingness to pay for noise reduction for urban residents living in Copenhagen. It is found that the annoyance level has a significant effect on the stated WTP. Expected WTP per dB reduction is subsequently calculated by combining WTP for each annoyance level with the estimated dose-response function for the relationship between noise exposure and annoyance. It is found that the expected WTP for a one dB noise reduction is increasing with the noise level from e.g. 2 EUR at 55 dB to 10 EUR at 75 dB. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.