Impact of socioeconomic factors on households’ willingness to pay for arsenic-free safe drinking water - A case study of Bihar, India

The paper studies the impact of socioeconomic factors on households' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for drinking water in Bihar, India. The data were collected from 420 households through a primary survey from two arsenic affected districts. A linear regression model was used to examine the causal relationship among various socioeconomic factors and their influence on household decision to pay for water services. Around 84% of the surveyed respondents were willing to pay for better-quality water sources. Households value the good water quality, which resulted in good health, and, therefore, influenced the household decision to pay and opt for the services. Average As concentration level were found to be 130.4 μg/L and 115.2 μg/L in 2013 and 2019, respectively. The results found that socioeconomic factors that influence overall WTP are: households' income, age, education, awareness, arsenic concentration levels, and visit to the doctor. Education of the household's head and awareness are interlinked, and more education causes a shift in water sources from poor quality to safer one. WTP for better-quality drinking water were estimated through Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). The annual WTP for the individual households and for the study area were estimated at INR 240 ($4.13) and INR 17.1 ($0.29) million, respectively. The inference of the results may be used in implementing of new policies for providing arsenic free drinking water in the affected areas.