Can Hypothetical Questions Reveal True Values? A Laboratory Comparison of Dichotomous Choice And Open-Ended Contingent Values with Auction Values

摘要

Can hypothetical questions reveal true values/ An examination of the laboratory exper- imental literature examining contingent valuation (CV) lends some support for using open-ended hypothetical willingness to pay questions. However, experimental studies examining dichotomous choice have found that hypothetical answers overstate demand. Consistent with the experimental literature, published CV studies comparing open-ended to dichotomous choice questions have shown that values from the dichotomous choice method equal or exceed those of the open-ended method in every case.