Holistic valuation of Nature-Based Solutions accounting for human perceptions and nature benefits.

When assessing strategies for implementing Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), it is paramount to identify and quantify all benefits for securing better, informed decisionmaking. Nevertheless, there appears to be a lack of primary data for linking the valuation of NBS sites with the preferences and attitudes of people interacting with them and their connection to supporting efforts to reduce biodiversity loss. This is a critical gap, as the socio-cultural context of NBS has been proven to play a big role in NBS valuation, especially for their non-tangible benefits (e.g. physical and psychological well-being, habitat enhancements, etc.). Consequently, through cocreation with the local government, we co-designed a contingent valuation (CV) survey to explore how the valuation of NBS sites may be shaped by their relationship with the users and the specific respondent and site characteristics. We applied this method to a case study of two distinct areas located in Aarhus, Denmark, with notable differences related to their attributes (e.g. size, location, time passed since construction). The esults obtained from 607 households in Aarhus Municipality show that the personal preferences of the respondent are the most relevant driver of value, surpassing both the perceptions linked to the physical features of the NBS and the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. Specifically, the respondents attributing most importance to nature benefits were the ones assigning a higher value to the NBS and being willing to pay more for an improvement of the nature quality in the area. These findings highlight the relevance of applying a method assessing the interconnections between human perceptions and nature benefits to ensure a holistic valuation and purposeful design of NBS.

Trust in the publicly financed care system and willingness to pay for long-term care: A discrete choice experiment in Denmark.

Aging populations put pressure on the provision and financing of long-term care (LTC) services in many countries. The projected increase in LTC expenditures may in particular constitute a threat to the future sustainability of public budgets in welfare states, where LTC is financed through taxes. To accommodate the increasing number of 80+ year-olds in society, policy-makers and service administrators need a better understanding of care preferences among future older adults: What types of services do older citizens prefer most, and which factors shape their LTC preferences? A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was administered to a representative sample of the Danish population aged 54-64 from May to July 2019 (n = 1154), investigating which factors shape individuals' preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for their future LTC. Our results reveal that respondents are willing to make additional out-of-pocket payments to supplement the care provided for free by the municipality. The WTP was highest for services such as receiving help from a regular care team ($129 per month) and an extra shower a week ($116 per month). Moreover, we find heterogeneous care preferences, with three user characteristics associated with higher WTP for services: higher education, high wealth, and a low trust in the publicly financed care system. Our results raise concerns that inequalities between relatively more- and less-resourceful older adults may increase in Scandinavian-type welfare states in the future. Such increasing inequality in service provision may undermine citizens' trust in and support of the publicly financed care system.

The importance of workplace accommodation for cancer survivors - The role of flexible work schedules and psychological help in returning to work.

We investigate whether accommodating job attributes influence the probability of returning to work three years after a cancer diagnosis. Using a combination of Danish administrative data and a survey carried out among Danish breast, colon, and melanoma skin cancer survivors, we find that the probability of returning to work is significantly and positively correlated with a flexible work schedule during and after cancer treatment. The result is robust when controlling for pre-cancer work experience, job seniority, pre-cancer job dissatisfaction, and post-cancer ability to work. Furthermore, we show that the influence of a flexible schedule varies with respect to cancer survivors' ability to work, level of education, and type of cancer.