Is WTP an attitudinal measure? Empirical analysis of the psychological explanation for contingent values

Date

2011

Authors

Ryan, Anthony
Spash, Clive

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier

Abstract

Contingent valuation has been given a psychological interpretation, by Kahneman and colleagues, that claims willingness to pay bids represent psychological attitudes rather than personal economic valuations. Evidence reported here shows the need to qualify the role of this attitudinal explanation. In contradiction to the attitudinal hypothesis, the decision to bid zero or positive appears to represent a complex psychological appraisal. Furthermore, evidence of bid clustering on currency denominations implies fundamental differences concerning how people respond to a monetary scale. Whether interpreted as charitable contributions or imprecise welfare estimates there are serious implications for how economists interpret and use stated preference responses.

Description

Keywords

Keywords: Contingent valuation; Contribution model; Environmental attitudes; Kahneman

Citation

Source

Journal of Economic Psychology

Type

Journal article

Book Title

Entity type

Access Statement

License Rights

Restricted until

2037-12-31