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User preferences and willingness to pay for safe drinking water: Experimental evidence from rural Tanzania

Author

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  • Burt, Zachary
  • Njee, Robert M.
  • Mbatia, Yolanda
  • Msimbe, Veritas
  • Brown, Joe
  • Clasen, Thomas F.
  • Malebo, Hamisi M.
  • Ray, Isha

Abstract

Almost half of all deaths from drinking microbiologically unsafe water occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) systems, when consistently used, can provide safer drinking water and improve health. Social marketing to increase adoption and use of HWTS depends both on the prices of and preferences for these systems. This study included 556 households from rural Tanzania across two low-income districts with low-quality water sources. Over 9 months in 2012 and 2013, we experimentally evaluated consumer preferences for six “low-cost” HWTS options, including boiling, through an ordinal ranking protocol. We estimated consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for these options, using a modified auction. We allowed respondents to pay for the durable HWTS systems with cash, chickens or mobile money; a significant minority chose chickens as payment. Overall, our participants favored boiling, the ceramic pot filter and, where water was turbid, PuR™ (a combined flocculant-disinfectant). The revealed WTP for all products was far below retail prices, indicating that significant scale-up may need significant subsidies. Our work will inform programs and policies aimed at scaling up HWTS to improve the health of resource-constrained communities that must rely on poor-quality, and sometimes turbid, drinking water sources.

Suggested Citation

  • Burt, Zachary & Njee, Robert M. & Mbatia, Yolanda & Msimbe, Veritas & Brown, Joe & Clasen, Thomas F. & Malebo, Hamisi M. & Ray, Isha, 2017. "User preferences and willingness to pay for safe drinking water: Experimental evidence from rural Tanzania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 63-71.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:173:y:2017:i:c:p:63-71
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.11.031
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    2. Smith, Daniel W. & Atwii Ongom, Stephen & Davis, Jennifer, 2023. "Does professionalizing maintenance unlock demand for more reliable water supply? Experimental evidence from rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    3. Loubière, Sandrine & Taylor, Owen & Tinland, Aurelie & Vargas-Moniz, Maria & O'Shaughnessy, Branagh & Bokszczanin, Anna & Kallmen, Hakan & Bernad, Roberto & Wolf, Judith & Santinello, Massimo & Loundo, 2020. "Europeans’ willingness to pay for ending homelessness: A contingent valuation study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    4. Jie Dong & Kuan Zhang & Xiguo Yin & Houjian Li & Mansoor Ahmed Koondhar, 2021. "Does piped water improve adolescent health? Empirical evidence from rural China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 1601-1628, August.
    5. Venis, Robbie A. & Taylor, Virginia & Sumayani, Paulina & Laizer, Marie & Anderson, Troy & Basu, Onita D., 2022. "Towards a participatory framework for improving water & health outcomes: A case study with Maasai women in rural Tanzania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    6. Tidwell, James B. & Terris-Prestholt, Fern & Quaife, Matthew & Aunger, Robert, 2019. "Understanding demand for higher quality sanitation in peri-urban Lusaka, Zambia through stated and revealed preference analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 139-147.

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