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Around and beyond the cheap talk script in Choice Experiments

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  • Grilli, Gianluca
  • Notaro. Sandra
  • Raffaelli, Roberta

Abstract

Using a sample of respondents interviewed face-to-face while accessing a natural park in Sardinia (Italy), we conduct a Discrete Choice Experiment to assess respondents’ willingness to pay for improved environmental quality of the site. We assess the impact of four different strategies to mitigate hypothetical bias (soft cheap talk, honesty priming, consequentiality scripts, and solemn oath) and two elicitation methods (direct and inferred evaluation methods). Results indicate that none of the strategies were significantly effective in reducing HB. Conversely, inferred valuation led to significantly lower WTP estimates. The effect was especially large for attributes of pure public nature, while attributes that include utility from indirect use are less affected by elicitation method. Overall, the study suggests that inferred valuation is more effective than other strategy in removing social desirability of respondents.

Suggested Citation

  • Grilli, Gianluca & Notaro. Sandra & Raffaelli, Roberta, 2025. "Around and beyond the cheap talk script in Choice Experiments," 2025 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2025, Denver, CO 360726, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea25:360726
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.360726
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jerrod M Penn & Wuyang Hu, 2018. "Understanding Hypothetical Bias: An Enhanced Meta-Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(4), pages 1186-1206.
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    3. Malte Oehlmann & Jürgen Meyerhoff, 2017. "Stated preferences towards renewable energy alternatives in Germany – do the consequentiality of the survey and trust in institutions matter?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Tiziana de-Magistris & Azucena Gracia & Rodolfo M. Nayga, 2013. "On the Use of Honesty Priming Tasks to Mitigate Hypothetical Bias in Choice Experiments," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1136-1154.
    5. Menapace, Luisa & Raffaelli, Roberta, 2020. "Unraveling hypothetical bias in discrete choice experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 416-430.
    6. Jayson L. Lusk & F. Bailey Norwood, 2009. "An Inferred Valuation Method," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 85(3), pages 500-514.
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    8. Laura O. Taylor & Ronald G. Cummings, 1999. "Unbiased Value Estimates for Environmental Goods: A Cheap Talk Design for the Contingent Valuation Method," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(3), pages 649-665, June.
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