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Eliciting Willingness to Pay: Comparing Closed-Ended with Open-Ended and Payment Scale Formats

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  • Emma J. Frew
  • David K. Whynes
  • Jane L. Wolstenholme

Abstract

Willingness to pay (WTP) is increasingly being used as a measure of valuation in health technology assessment. A variety of formats for eliciting values are available, although the relative virtues of each remain the subject of methodological controversy. This article compares valuation results obtained using a WTP survey instrument in a closed-ended format with those obtained from instruments using open-ended and payment scale formats. Samples of subjects were drawn from a general population, and all were asked to value the same intervention—alternative methods of screening for colorectal cancer. It was discovered that, whereas the open-ended and payment scale formats produced broadly similar valuations, the closed-ended format produced significantly higher WTP valuations and different justifications for those valuations. It is hypothesized that anchoring and yea-saying effects explain these differences and that the closed-ended format triggers a different response mode in subjects.

Suggested Citation

  • Emma J. Frew & David K. Whynes & Jane L. Wolstenholme, 2003. "Eliciting Willingness to Pay: Comparing Closed-Ended with Open-Ended and Payment Scale Formats," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 23(2), pages 150-159, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:medema:v:23:y:2003:i:2:p:150-159
    DOI: 10.1177/0272989X03251245
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