Striking a balance: Exploring preferences and trade-offs associated with mining in Arctic Norway
通过离散选择实验，研究挪威三个地区居民对采矿中环境保护与就业创造的偏好，发现人们更看重生态系统保护，但就业也有价值，结果对采矿行业的社会许可和成本效益分析有参考意义。
Sub-marine mine tailings disposal remains controversial due to uncertain long-term effects on marine ecosystems. As one of the few countries still permitting such practices, Norway faces public opposition and contested social licenses for mining companies. This study employs a split-sample discrete choice experiment across three Norwegian regions to estimate preferences for environmental conservation and local job creation in the context of mining. Mixed logit model results reveal a strong preference for ecosystem protection over economic development, though job creation remains valued. Preferences exhibit substantial heterogeneity but remain consistent across regions and experimental variation in choice architecture, emphasizing either use or total economic value for a key environmental attribute. The study findings are relevant for the mining industry regarding the social license to operate, can guide social cost-benefit analyses, and contribute to the modest literature on environmental valuation in mining.