HOW WILLINGNESS TO PAY (WTP) MATTERS IN THE DETERMINATION OF NATURAL RESOURCE PRICES WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The objective of this paper is to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) models to study drinking water consumer behavior in a semi-arid region. We studied the case of a sample of 600 households in Gabès city in the south of Tunisia using linear and qualitative regression methods to quantify the WTP in this city. In our case study, the water quality presents an intra- and interregional differentiation. The empirical results show that this differentiation in the physical nature of the quality of distributed water has the consequence of causing modifications in the consumption strategy of consumers. Indeed, in the event of poor quality, households are ready to pay a WTP to benefit from improved quality. Where the quality of drinking water does not pose a quality satisfaction problem among households, the WTP depends on the levels of consciousness of the agent questioned. Therefore, households that are ready to pay are aware of the scarcity of drinking water resources.