Investigating the Difficulties in Aesthetic Pollution Assessment by Means of Experimental Economics

Abstract

This work deals with investigation of certain difficulties met in aesthetic pollution assessment. Experimental Economics techniques, like answering to a questionnaire (including quantifiers under the form of ‘willingness to pay/accept’, WTP/A) have been incorporated into a Fault Synthesis/Analysis (FTS/A) methodology. An implementation is presented concerning the archaeological site of Elefsina, where atmospheric/visual pollution is evident, due to industrial activities taking place in the vicinity. It is proved that there is no significant linear correlation between WTP and WTA, in spite of what is suggested in certain theoretical aspects; thus, not only the WTA-WTP disparity, reported also by some authors (in cases other than aesthetic pollution), is confirmed but, furthermore, the lack of correlation is proved (valid in other two industrial sites near Athens, too). Last, we have indicated that extended aesthetic pleasure (EAP), used as an index of visual externalities, can contribute to the conceptual determination of the optimal value of effort intensification and the resources spent (Iopt) to achieve a certain aesthetic result. According to this analysis, Iopt is decreased in the short run (due to lack of information diffusion, mainly in the public) and increased in the long run, due to knowledge accumulation/transfer/diffusion. The methodology presented herein has been successfully implemented in the case of the archaeological site of Elefsina, where the corresponding EAP is decreased by the industrial activities taking place in the vicinity.

Keywords: aesthetic pollution, visual pollution, experimental economics, contingent valuation method, fault tree synthesis, fault tree analysis, benefit maximization, fuzzy sets