Abstract:
Solid waste management is an integral component of sustainable development for any
nation and prioritizing solid waste management is greatly supported as global
initiative. This study investigated household Willingness to Pay (WTP) for improved
Solid Waste Management (SWM) services in Kasoa. A cross-sectional survey design
was employed for this study. Data was obtained from 276 households in six electoral
areas within Kasoa. The study analysed households‘ Willingness to Pay and
subsequently their Maximum Willingness to Pay for improved SWM service as well
as the factors that influenced their Willingness to Pay. To elicit Willingness to Pay, an
open-ended Contingent Valuation Model was employed for the data collection. Probit
and Ordered Probit Models were used in the empirical analysis to determine the
factors that influence Willingness to Pay and Maximum Willingness to Pay of
households for improved SWM service respectively. The results revealed that 73.9%
of respondents were willing to pay at a maximum fee of 15Ghc per month for
improved SWM service. The outcome of the study shows that, age, average monthly
income, collection frequency, employment status, level of education (tertiary), house
ownership and service satisfaction were the factors that significantly influenced
household‘s willingness and maximum willingness to pay for an improved SWM
service. The study recommends that government and various stake holders should
make efforts towards improving residents' income as willingness to pay relates
positively to income. More so, a flat rate should not be charged across households
since household Maximum Willingness to Pay values vary among households
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Economics Education,
Faculty of Social Sciences Education, submitted to the School
of Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Economics)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JULY, 2019
