Paper Title
Willingness to Pay Method for Measuring the External Cost of Noise Pollution

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental benefit of reducing noise pollution and express the benefits in monetary units using the technique of ‘Contingent Valuation Method’ (CVM). Until now, the sound protection technology was paid by the citizens through taxation. As the evaluation of the environmental benefit i.e. public good cannot be expressed by market forces, a modified version of the Contingent Valuation Method was applied. With the scope of determining valuable feedback from the interviewees, we intend to examine how the citizens are willing to pay for the related expansion of noise barriers (WTP) along the regional highway of Thessaloniki in Greece. Questionnaires were distributed to residents in areas located along the peripheral highway of Thessaloniki and processing of responses was done using the SPSS - Statistics. Measurements were made with a sound level meter after noise barriers were installed along the regional highway of Thessaloniki to calculate the noise reduction levels. The measurements showed that in areas where there were noise barriers, noise was reduced to about approximately 1/3 compared with no noise barriers. It is proposed three alternative business models for noise reduction which are all responsible and taking into account the total macroeconomic social welfare. Keywords - Environmental Benefit, Public Good, CVM, Questionnaire, Noise, Noise Barrier, Sound Level Meter