137 research outputs found
Willingness-to-pay for science as a public good: a contingent valuation experiment
No full textEvery year a significant amount of money is invested by governments on large-scale research infrastructures such as particle accelerators, telescopes, robotic space probes, biological data banks, oceanographic vessels, etc. The majority of these projects is funded through general taxation, and hence taxpayers are implicitly called to contribute to scientific discovery. Against the actual tax burden, how much the general public is actually willing to pay for investment in science? This paper explores the attitudes of young science-outsiders (the taxpayers of tomorrow) by the design of a pilot experiment involving a sample of undergraduate students in economics at University of Milan. We were interested in building a replicable survey setting aimed at eliciting the willingness to pay (WTP) for the discovery potential of a basic science project. Our case study is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful particle accelerator worldwide. The experiment takes the form of a Contingent Valuation Referendum-like in depth interview. Both parametric and non-parametric estimators were used to calculate the mean WTP. Our results suggest that the sample mean WTP for the LHC discoveries ranges from EUR 23 to 28 per person annually. This is a relatively high result, several times in excess of the actual average tax-burden for supporting the CERN budget by Italian taxpayers, but can be compared with several previous empirical findings about the WTP for the non-use value of specific cultural and environmental goods. Building on this pilot experiment, we discuss possible future research avenues in order to extend to representative samples of taxpayers the empirical analysis of WTP for scientific discovery
A contingent valuation experiment about future particle accelerators at CERN
No full textInvestment in basic science is mainly supported by government funding, but little is known about citizens’ willingness to pay for large-scale projects. A survey to a representative sample of French taxpayers, designed as a contingent valuation experiment about a future particle accelerator for CERN, reveals that citizens’ willingness to pay is correlated with education, income, age, and–crucially–previous awareness, attitudes and interest in science. A (slim) majority of the participants would accept paying more in taxes for CERN. The estimated willingness to pay is higher than the current implicit per capita tax burden of French citizens. The experimental setting is novel and replicable for empirically assessing social attitudes towards science for other research infrastructures and countries.</div
Perceptions of fundamental science: Evidence from a classroom experiment
No full textLarge-scale research infrastructures such as particle colliders, radio telescopes, the International Space Station, areoften funded through general taxation and taxpayers are called to contribute to scientific discovery. How muchare people actually willing to pay for investments in science? What does drive such a giving behaviour? This paperexplores the attitudes of young science-outsiders (the taxpayers of tomorrow) by a pilot experiment involving 230undergraduate students in economics at University of Milan. The experiment takes the form of a ContingentValuation Referendum-like interview aimed at eliciting the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the discovery potentialof the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful particle accelerator worldwide. Our results point tothe attitudes of students about fundamental science measured through their WTP. Building on this pilot experi-ment, we put forward recommendations for future research
Should governments fund basic science? : evidence from a willingness-to-pay experiment in five universities
No full textTax-payers are usually the ultimate funders of large-scale research infrastructures (RIs), but the expected discoveries of such projects often do not have any known use-value. By interviewing 1,022 undergraduates, we study the drivers of preferences for paying for basic research, which are still little known. We focus on the LHC at CERN, where the Higgs boson was discovered. Income, awareness, and positive attitudes towards science drive a positive willingness-to-pay for science. Students in social sciences and the humanities are willing to contribute to scientific curricula at least as much as their peers. Findings offer support to government funding of basic research as a public good
Willingness to pay for basic research: a contingent valuation experiment on the large hadron collider
No full textAn increasing number of countries and institutions are investing in large-scale research infrastructures (RIs) and in basic research. Scientific discoveries, which are expected thanks to RIs, may have a non-use value, in analogy with environmental and cultural public goods. This paper provides, for the first time, an empirical estimation of the willingness to pay (WTP) for discoveries in basic research by the general public. We focus on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the largest particle accelerator worldwide, where in 2012 the Higgs boson was discovered. Nobody knows the practical value of such discovery, beyond knowledge per se. The findings of our study are based on a dichotomous choice contingent valuation (CV) survey carried out in line with the NOAA guidelines. The survey involved 1,022 undergraduate students enrolled in more than 30 different degrees (including the humanities) at five universities located in four countries (Italy, France, Spain, UK). We ask two main research questions: Which are the determinants of the WTP for the LHC discoveries? What is the average contribution that the respondents would be willing to pay? Our results confirm that income, interest and attitudes towards basic research are positively associated with the WTP, while other potential explanatory variables play a limited role. The estimated mean of WTP for basic research in particle physics is EUR 7.7 per person una-tantum. Although this is a small amount compared to other CV studies for environmental and cultural goods, it points to positive social attitudes for basic science as a public good
Should governments fund basic science? Evidence from a willingness-to-pay experiment in five universities
No full textTax-payers are usually the ultimate funders of large-scale research infrastructures (RIs), but the expected discoveries of such projects often do not have any known use-value. By interviewing 1,022 undergraduates, we study the drivers of preferences for paying for basic research, which are still little known. We focus on the LHC at CERN, where the Higgs boson was discovered. Income, awareness, and positive attitudes towards science drive a positive willingness-to-pay for science. Students in social sciences and the humanities are willing to contribute to scientific curricula at least as much as their peers. Findings offer support to government funding of basic research as a public good
Big Science, Learning and Innovation: Evidence from Cern Procurement
No full textWe study the way in which public procurement by big research infrastructures enhances suppliers’ per- formance. Using survey data on 669 CERN suppliers, we built a unique data set to analyse, through an ordered logit model and Bayesian networks, the determinants of suppliers’ sales, profits and develop- ment activities. We find that collaborative relations between CERN and its suppliers improve suppliers’ performance and increase positive spill overs along the supply chain. This suggests that public procure- ment for innovation policies should promote cooperative relations and not only market mechanisms
Experiential learning in high energy physics: a survey of students at the LHC
No full textMore than 36 000 students and post-docs will be involved until 2025 in research at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) mainly through international collaborations. To what extent they value the skills acquired? Do students expect that their learning experience will have an impact on their professional future? By drawing from earlier literature on experiential learning, we have designed a survey of current and former students at LHC. To quantitatively measure the students’ perceptions, we compare the salary expectations of current students with the assessment of those now employed in different jobs. Survey data are analysed by ordered logistic regression models, which allow multivariate statistical analyses with limited dependent variables. Results suggest that experiential learning at LHC positively correlates with both current and former students’ salary expectations. Those already employed clearly confirm the expectations of current students. At least two not mutually exclusive explanations underlie the results. First, the training at LHC is perceived to provide students valuable skills, which in turn affect the salary expectations, secondly, the LHC research experience per se may act as signal in the labour market. Respondents put a price tag on their learning experience, a ‘LHC salary premium’ ranging from 5% to 12% compared with what they would have expected for their career without such an experience at CERN
Application of additive light increases leafy cutting rooting and survival in hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.)
No full textCorylus avellana is a hard-to-root species, thus hazelnut cultivar propagation by stem cuttings is considered difficult. The rooting of cuttings is influenced by many exogenous and endogenous factors such as hormones, cutting quality, and environmental conditions. In particular, rooting success of soft wood cuttings could be enhanced by the application of additive light during rooting due to the possible increase of photosynthetic activity of the cutting leaf and of the consequent increase of the carbohydrate content of the cutting. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of additive light during the rooting process on cutting physiology and rooting success. Results showed that additive light (PAR ~300 μmol m-2 s-1), applied in 2014 on cuttings of 'Tonda di Giffoni', increased cutting leaf photosynthesis and cutting non-structural carbohydrate content. This resulted in a consistent increase of the percentage of rooted cuttings and of the quality of the roots. Furthermore, plants obtained from rooting under the additive light condition suffered a reduced amount of mortality in comparison with control plants. The experiment was repeated in 2015 on a pre-commercial scale using 'Tonda di Giffoni' and 'Tonda Romana' cuttings. Results confirmed the observation of the previous year. In conclusion, additive light during leafy cutting rooting is a technique able to increase cutting propagation success in hazelnut
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