Heterogeneity in community acceptance of urban SMR siting: A contingent valuation and latent class analysis

This study provides empirical evidence on community acceptance of small modular reactor (SMR) siting among urban residents using a double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation survey of 2,456 respondents in South Korea. Among respondents with a finite reservation price, the median annual Willingness-to-Accept (WTA) was KRW 111,000 per person (95% bootstrap CI: KRW 99,000 to 124,000). Respondents were classified into three tiers according to their reactions to two sequential bids: bid acceptors (52.6%), price-conditional acceptors (25.4%), and non-compensatory rejectors (22.0%), who reject SMR siting regardless of the amount offered. Latent class analysis identified five policy-relevant groups based on their perception profiles. The classes differed substantially in their tier compositions and perceptions of risk, benefits, trust, fairness, and negative affect, whereas demograph…