Citation

González-Cabán A, Sánchez JJ. Int. J. Wildland Fire 2017; 26(8): 744-753.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, International Association of Wildland Fire, Fire Research Institute, Publisher CSIRO Publishing)

DOI

10.1071/WF16216

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for minority (African-American and Hispanic) homeowners in Florida for private and public wildfire risk-reduction programs and also to test for differences in response between the two groups. A random parameter logit and latent class model allowed us to determine if there is a difference in wildfire mitigation program preferences, whether WTP is higher for public or private actions for wildfire risk reduction, and whether households with personal experience and who perceive that they live in higher-risk areas have significantly higher WTP. We also compare Florida minority homeowners' WTP values with Florida original homeowners' estimates.

RESULTS suggest that Florida minority homeowners are willing to invest in public programs, with African-Americans WTP values at a higher rate than Hispanics. In addition, the highest priority for cost-sharing funds would go to low-income homeowners, especially to cost-share private actions on their own land. These results may help fire managers optimise allocation of scarce cost-sharing funds for public v. private actions.

Language: en