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Hypothetical versus real willingness to pay: some experimental results

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  • Magnus Johannesson
  • Bengt Liljas
  • Richard O'Conor

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare hypothetical and real willingness to pay (WTP) in an experimental setting by eliciting WTP for a private good, a box of chocolates. The experimental subjects were randomly divided into two groups. One group received an open-ended hypothetical WTP question and another group participated in a second-price auction with real payments. The mean WTP was SEK 89.50 (STD 75.37) in the hypothetical payment group and SEK 87.40 (STD 39.47) in the real payment group. The null hypothesis of no difference in the mean WTP between the groups could not be rejected.

Suggested Citation

  • Magnus Johannesson & Bengt Liljas & Richard O'Conor, 1997. "Hypothetical versus real willingness to pay: some experimental results," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 149-151.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:4:y:1997:i:3:p:149-151
    DOI: 10.1080/135048597355401
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helen R. Neill & Ronald G. Cummings & Philip T. Ganderton & Glenn W. Harrison & Thomas McGuckin, 1994. "Hypothetical Surveys and Real Economic Commitments," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 70(2), pages 145-154.
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    Cited by:

    1. Franziska Voelckner, 2006. "An empirical comparison of methods for measuring consumers’ willingness to pay," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 137-149, April.
    2. Kanya, Lucy & Sanghera, Sabina & Lewin, Alex & Fox-Rushby, Julia, 2019. "The criterion validity of willingness to pay methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 238-261.
    3. M. R. Bhatia & J. A. Fox-Rushby, 2003. "Validity of Willingness to Pay: hypothetical versus actual payment," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(12), pages 737-740.
    4. Liljas, Bengt & Blumenschein, Karen, 2000. "On hypothetical bias and calibration in cost-benefit studies," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 53-70, May.
    5. Kanya, Lucy & Saghera, Sabina & Lewin, Alex & Fox-Rushby, Julia, 2019. "The criterion validity of willingness to pay methods: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100741, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:3:y:2004:i:6:p:1-13 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Helen Neill, 1999. "Hypothetical versus real willingness to pay: comment," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(5), pages 267-269.
    8. Joseph Little & Robert Berrens, 2004. "Explaining Disparities between Actual and Hypothetical Stated Values: Further Investigation Using Meta-Analysis," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 3(6), pages 1-13.
    9. Munro, Alistair, 2007. "When is some number really better than no number? On the optimal choice between non-market valuation methods," MPRA Paper 8978, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Horowitz, John K. & McConnell, K. E., 2000. "Values elicited from open-ended real experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 221-237, March.
    11. Murat Isik, 2006. "An experimental analysis of impacts of uncertainty and irreversibility on willingness-to-pay," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 67-72.
    12. Svensson, Mikael, 2006. "The Value of a Statistical Life in Sweden Estimates from Two Studies using the "Certainty Approach" Calibration," Working Papers 2006:6, Örebro University, School of Business, revised 12 May 2009.
    13. Taylor, Laura O., 1998. "Incentive Compatible Referenda And The Valuation Of Environmental Goods," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 27(2), pages 1-8, October.
    14. Pallab Mozumder & Robert P. Berrens, 2007. "Investigating hypothetical bias: induced-value tests of the referendum voting mechanism with uncertainty," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(10), pages 705-709.
    15. Obinna Onwujekwe, 2001. "Searching for a better willingness to pay elicitation method in rural Nigeria: the binary question with follow‐up method versus the bidding game technique," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(2), pages 147-158, March.
    16. Cenk Koçaş & Kivilcim Dogerlioglu-Demir, 2014. "An empirical investigation of consumers’ willingness-to-pay and the demand function: The cumulative effect of individual differences in anchored willingness-to-pay responses," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 139-152, June.
    17. Joseph Eisenhauer & Luigi Ventura, 2006. "The prevalence of hyperbolic discounting: some European evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(11), pages 1223-1234.
    18. Beltramo, Theresa & Blalock, Garrick & Levine, David I. & Simons, Andrew M., 2015. "The effect of marketing messages and payment over time on willingness to pay for fuel-efficient cookstoves," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 333-345.

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