Abstract: High altitude training provides acclimatization to athletes by enhancing endurance; however, this environmental service has remained unaccounted and un-priced. Therefore, this study sought to estimate economic value of high altitude services to athletes using travel cost valuation approach. This study was carried out at Iten Township in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya. Systematic simple random sampling technique was used in administering 223 structured questionnaires to respondents. Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version-20) were used for data analysis. Findings from the study showed that athletes incurred estimated cost of about $9.59 per day to train at high altitude, while high altitude attributes such as experience, safety and altitude acclimatization were highly ranked as motivating factors by athletes to train in the study area. Results from statistical tests revealed that experience, age of athletes, safety and altitude effects were significantly difference in influencing athletes’ willingness to incur extra cost for altitude acclimatization. Analysis from logit model showed that experience, age of athletes, safety and altitude effects had high probability to influence athletes to train at high altitude areas. However, stochastic variable in the model showed significant difference in influencing willingness to incur cost by athletes while training at high altitude. This error term explains unobserved variables in the model which were beyond the scope of this study. In conclusion athletes are willing to incur travelling and living costs to train at high altitude areas in order to gain incremental altitude training effects as affirmed by bootstrap hypothesis testing results. Significant of this study will inform policy and decision makers on critical information while they develop sustainable infrastructure, legislation and policies for sports industry.Abstract: High altitude training provides acclimatization to athletes by enhancing endurance; however, this environmental service has remained unaccounted and un-priced. Therefore, this study sought to estimate economic value of high altitude services to athletes using travel cost valuation approach. This study was carried out at Iten Township in Elgeyo Mara...Show More
Abstract: The international dependence on renewable energy in the generation of energy has increased significantly, which stopped the researcher in studying the impact of this on OPEC countries that rely heavily on oil to form their revenues and economic capabilities. The researcher has noted that the demand for renewable energy to generate energy increased, especially during the period from 1990 to 2018, as the proportion of the contribution of renewable energy to power generation ranged between 15% in 1990 until it reached 23% in 2018, and at the same time it was observed that the rate of generation Energy from oil for the same period shrank from 13% in 1990 until it reached 3% in 2018 (according to data from the International Energy Agency) . The research assumed that increasing international dependence on renewable energy sources will negatively affect oil revenues for OPEC countries and limit global demand for Petroleum to generate energy in exchange for increased dependence on renewable energy, which reduces the oil revenues of OPEC countries have been relied on data of the World Bank and the International Energy Agency, and the multiple regression model was used to reach the variable most influencing the revenues of OPEC countries and reach the ratio of the impact of the use of renewable energy in generating energy on the revenues of OPEC countries. Until 52% of the changes that occurred in oil revenues in OPEC countries are caused by the price of a global barrel in dollars, while the impact of renewable energy on OPEC revenues was 30%. Accordingly, the research recommends that OPEC countries should strive not to rely entirely on oil as a main source of income - especially with the availability of an alternative from renewable energy in most of the OPEC countries - and that there has become a need to diversify the sources of income for OPEC countries and not rely entirely on one source of income.Abstract: The international dependence on renewable energy in the generation of energy has increased significantly, which stopped the researcher in studying the impact of this on OPEC countries that rely heavily on oil to form their revenues and economic capabilities. The researcher has noted that the demand for renewable energy to generate energy increased,...Show More
