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

초록

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 demographic characteristics had limited explanatory power. The findings show that community responses to urban SMR siting cannot be adequately represented by a simple binary distinction between acceptance and opposition. By integrating compensation-based valuation, behavioral response classification, and perceptionbased segmentation, this study provides evidence for differentiated community engagement and benefit-sharing strategies that extend beyond uniform policy approaches.

키워드