WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.309 --> 00:00:02.892 (gentle music) 2 00:00:09.500 --> 00:00:12.660 Third, that's where Darth Vader ranks among the top 3 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:16.096 line:15% 100 greatest American movie villains of all time. 4 00:00:16.096 --> 00:00:18.880 line:15% But did you know that James Earl Jones, 5 00:00:18.880 --> 00:00:22.060 the actor who gave Darth Vader his menacing voice 6 00:00:22.060 --> 00:00:24.315 was born in the Mississippi Delta? 7 00:00:24.315 --> 00:00:27.520 In fact Jones' birth house still stands today 8 00:00:27.520 --> 00:00:31.260 but just barely 'cause as like other notable delta 9 00:00:31.260 --> 00:00:34.259 landmarks and the Death Star you see here on the left 10 00:00:34.259 --> 00:00:37.567 it has deteriorated noticeably. 11 00:00:37.567 --> 00:00:41.540 But what if we restore Jones' birth house? 12 00:00:41.540 --> 00:00:43.970 Would Mississippians values that restoration? 13 00:00:43.970 --> 00:00:46.900 To answer this question we apply a method commonly 14 00:00:46.900 --> 00:00:50.270 used in economics called contingent valuation. 15 00:00:50.270 --> 00:00:51.958 The process works like this. 16 00:00:51.958 --> 00:00:55.660 First you send out a survey to a sample of the population 17 00:00:55.660 --> 00:00:57.930 and ask them if they're willing to pay to see some 18 00:00:57.930 --> 00:01:00.050 hypothetical improvement occur. 19 00:01:00.050 --> 00:01:02.864 And that hypothetical improvement in this case would be 20 00:01:02.864 --> 00:01:06.047 restoring James Earl Jones' birth house. 21 00:01:06.047 --> 00:01:09.410 And some are gonna say yes, 22 00:01:09.410 --> 00:01:11.350 others are gonna be a little bit more Yoda-ish 23 00:01:11.350 --> 00:01:12.490 and say no. 24 00:01:12.490 --> 00:01:13.780 And then others are gonna fall into the 25 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:15.548 I don't know category. 26 00:01:15.548 --> 00:01:19.670 But the idea is that the maximum amount a person is 27 00:01:19.670 --> 00:01:22.040 willing to pay for the restoration is how much 28 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:23.110 they value it. 29 00:01:23.110 --> 00:01:27.100 So for example if we asked someone who's a little more 30 00:01:27.100 --> 00:01:31.210 on the Darth Vader side if they're willing to pay 31 00:01:31.210 --> 00:01:35.140 five dollars and they say yes then we would know that they 32 00:01:35.140 --> 00:01:37.598 value the restoration at least that much. 33 00:01:37.598 --> 00:01:41.290 In our case we surveyed 600 adult Mississippians 34 00:01:41.290 --> 00:01:43.690 and asked them if they'd be willing to pay to see 35 00:01:43.690 --> 00:01:46.278 James Earl Jones' birth house restored 36 00:01:46.278 --> 00:01:50.044 and repurposed as a James Earl Jones museum. 37 00:01:50.044 --> 00:01:53.507 Ultimately we find that Mississippians value the restoration 38 00:01:53.507 --> 00:01:56.730 at about 78 dollars per person. 39 00:01:56.730 --> 00:01:59.870 Which when multiplied by the total adult population of the 40 00:01:59.870 --> 00:02:03.000 state of Mississippi equates to a total value of 41 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:06.266 about 177 million dollars. 42 00:02:06.266 --> 00:02:09.010 And this is just the value that Mississippians 43 00:02:09.010 --> 00:02:12.190 place on knowing that the restoration occurred, 44 00:02:12.190 --> 00:02:14.990 not necessarily because they plan to visit. 45 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:17.411 But it's also a possibility that James Earl Jones fans 46 00:02:17.411 --> 00:02:20.270 and Star Wars fans from across the country 47 00:02:20.270 --> 00:02:23.750 and around the world would come to the delta to visit the 48 00:02:23.750 --> 00:02:26.120 place where Jones was born. 49 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:28.550 And that undoubtedly have a positive impact 50 00:02:28.550 --> 00:02:29.723 on the local economy. 51 00:02:30.574 --> 00:02:35.574 All of this is to say that Mississippians would benefit 52 00:02:35.940 --> 00:02:38.810 from restoring James Earl Jones' birth house 53 00:02:38.810 --> 00:02:41.700 and that Darth Vader would undoubtedly find the 54 00:02:41.700 --> 00:02:44.378 current lack of restoration disturbing. 55 00:02:44.378 --> 00:02:46.961 (gentle music)