Social Sciences and Humanities Open (Jan 2020)
Perceptions of fundamental science: Evidence from a classroom experiment
Abstract
Large-scale research infrastructures such as particle colliders, radio telescopes, the International Space Station, are often funded through general taxation and taxpayers are called to contribute to scientific discovery. How much are people actually willing to pay for investments in science? What does drive such a giving behaviour? This paper explores the attitudes of young science-outsiders (the taxpayers of tomorrow) by a pilot experiment involving 230 undergraduate students in economics at University of Milan. The experiment takes the form of a Contingent Valuation Referendum-like interview aimed at eliciting the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the discovery potential of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful particle accelerator worldwide. Our results point to the attitudes of students about fundamental science measured through their WTP. Building on this pilot experiment, we put forward recommendations for future research.
