Contingent Valuation of Digital Identification Card and Electronic Signature Service in Luxembourg

Abstract

This chapter refers to the concept of willingness to pay (WTP), defined as what an individual will agree to pay for a benefit (service, equipment, prevention program) funded entirely or in part by the community (Godfroid I., 1996). The concept may be illustrated using a method, the contingent valuation method (CVM) (Mitchell and Carson, 1989). The method relies on a conceptual framework based on the random utility model (RUM) (Haneman, 1984). It is generally limited to the fields of the environment (Loomis et al., 2000) and health (Chanel et al., 2004), and is little used in the field of innovation (Le Gal-Ely, 2003). One objective of the chapter is to show that it is possible to apply CVM in the field of innovation in information and communication technologies (ICT). The innovation this study focuses on is a digital identification card and electronic signature service (www.luxtrust.lu/solutions/choix/choix) and its adoption by individuals aged 16 to 74 years residing in Luxembourg. The service would safeguard electronic exchanges (purchases of books and DVDs, sales, bank transactions or exchanges of information with public services), first, by identifying merchants, suppliers and public services on the Internet and, second, by allowing the individual using the service to electronically sign for all transactions made online.