Economic evaluation of bottled water consumption as an averting means: evidence from a hedonic price analysis

Abstract

This study alerts researchers and policy makers to the importance of the price effect of bottle size in an economic evaluation of using bottled water as a means to avoid health risks from drinking home tap water. It derived a proxy for the economic value of smaller bottle size by analysing a hedonic price model. The results show that, by not accounting for the economic value of smaller bottle size, we can overstate consumer willingness-to-pay for safer drinking water by more than 100%.