Investigating Information Bias in Contingent Valuation: A Survey of Willingness to Pay to Preserve the Cultural Heritage of Majuli Island

Research purpose. Satras of the river island Majuli form an indispensable part of Assam’s cultural heritage. However, despite their tremendous importance, floods and flood-induced erosion severely impact the Satras. This study aims to explore the perceptions of the residents of the world's largest riverine island, Majuli, regarding the importance of the cultural heritage of Majuli by incorporating their Willingness to Pay (WTP) for the preservation and conservation of Satras in Majuli. Design/methodology/approach. A structured interview was conducted with 370 individuals using the Yamane formula from different areas adjoining Satras. The Contingent Valuation method (CVM) was used to grasp the objective of the study, and the Censored regression was used to identify the determinants of Willingness to Pay (WTP). A split-sampling technique was used to detect the presence of information bias. The chi-square test of association and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to detect the presence of information bias. Findings. The study found that most people expressed their willingness to protect and safeguard their cultural heritage from floods and erosion that occur every year. The Karl Pearson chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test showed an absence of information bias. Variance inflation factors (VIF) indicate the absence of multicollinearity. The variances were homoscedastic. The results of the censored regression showed that income, age, and threat significantly affected the respondents’ WTP. While family size negatively impacted the Willingness to pay of the respondents. The income of the respondents positively affected their WTP, which was significant at the one per cent level of significance. Financial Burden also negatively affects the WTP of the respondents and has a marginal effect of INR -0.015. Education was not found to significantly affect the WTP decisions of the respondents in the study area, although education was one of the significant variables affecting Willingness to Pay. Originality/value/practical implications. A detailed understanding of the benefits and the need to preserve age-old heritage can thereby contribute to decision-making, planning, and protection of the cultural heritage of Majuli, as floods are a yearly phenomenon on the island. This study adds to the existing literature by providing meaningful insights into the economic valuation of heritage, particularly cultural heritage.