Factors Affecting the Willingness to Pay for Environmental Improvements during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Background and objective: This study aimed to assess satisfaction with environmental factors during the COVID-19pandemic and key factors affecting the willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental improvements using logistic regressionanalysis.
Methods: Cross-sectional survey data of 504 residents of Taean-gun in Chungcheongnam-do (South ChungcheongProvince), taken from July to August 2020, were used.
Results: The assessment of their satisfaction with five environmental factors found that their satisfaction with the naturalecology had the highest score, while their satisfaction with the waste factor had the lowest score. With respect to overallenvironmental satisfaction, it was found that regardless of gender, age, and income, most residents were highly satisfiedwith the overall environment of Taean-gun (Taean County). In addition, the WTP for environmental improvements wasslightly higher among males than among females. Residents in their 60s or older and with a monthly income of 4 - 4.99million won were most likely to express WTP for environmental improvements. A binominal logit analysis found thatincreased environmental concerns (EC), satisfaction with environmental health (EHS) and income were crucial factors indetermining the WTP for environmental health. The variables of increased EC and income, have a positive (+) relationshipwith WTP, while the variable of EHS has a significantly a negative (-) relationship with WTP.
Conclusion: In other words, the higher the EC, the lower the EHS, and the higher the income, the more likely residents wereto express WTP for environmental improvements. This study has significance in that it can provide primary data forsustainable local environmental plans to improve public environmental awareness for sustainability, and environmentalstrategies to prepare for post-pandemic life.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Research Methods
• Results and Discussion
• Conclusion
• References