The Influence of the Cause of Deteriorated Architecture on Willingness to Pay for Restoration

The cause of an object’s damage can influence the public's willingness to pay (donations) for restoration. There is a disagreement about whether the willingness to pay (WTP) increases when the damage is attributed to humans (outrage effect) or nature (moral responsibility effect). Other factors also influence WTP for restoration. This study used a particular post office as an example, conducted a questionnaire survey, and applied a random parameter logit model (one of the logit models that allows the parameters of each individual to vary, allowing us to consider heterogeneity among individuals) to examine how the cause of damage (nature, owner, and local people) influenced people's WTP. The effect of the percentage of cost covered by the owner for restoration (25, 50, and 75%) and different donation locations/methods (middle of town, on-site, and online) on the WTP were also studied. The results support the idea that natural damage leads to a greater WTP because the reason for the deterioration of the said post office is clear, and participants can recognize who is responsible for the damage. In human-related cases, the WTP was higher for an owner than for local people if the payment place was a town, but vice versa if the payment place was a site. It follows that the WTP was lower if participants were assumed to visit a place related to the owner or local people. The results also showed that the WTP was the highest when the percentage of owner’s payments was moderate (50%).