2002 World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists

This paper reports the results of the first set of experiments designed to investigate the nature and extent of the bias present in the double referendum mechanism. The NOAA Panel on Contingent Valuation expressed the view that single (hypothetical) referendum responses should be truthful but called for further experiments on mechanisms that deviated from this simple format. We employ an induced preference design to test single and double-bounded referenda. The outcome of an incentive compatible referendum is compared to two referenda designed to simulate the incentive conditions present in single and double versions. We find that in the case of the single referenda there is no difference in responses between consequential and inconsequential treatments. Results from the double referendum suggest that most of the observed empirical problems arise in the field and not from the mechanism per se. The contribution of this experiment is to make explicit where anomalies in responses to the double referendum mechanism arise.



	Paper Title:	Make It A Double? Experimental Insights Into Dichotomous Choice Mechanisms
	Presenting Author:	A C Burton (United States Air Force Academy)
	Coauthor 1:	Katherine Carson
	Coauthor 2:	Susan Chilton
	Coauthor 3:	W G Hutchinson
	Abstract:	This paper reports the results of the first set of experiments designed to investigate the nature and extent of the bias present in the double referendum mechanism. The NOAA Panel on Contingent Valuation expressed the view that single (hypothetical) referendum responses should be truthful but called for further experiments on mechanisms that deviated from this simple format. We employ an induced preference design to test single and double-bounded referenda. The outcome of an incentive compatible referendum is compared to two referenda designed to simulate the incentive conditions present in single and double versions. We find that in the case of the single referenda there is no difference in responses between consequential and inconsequential treatments. Results from the double referendum suggest that most of the observed empirical problems arise in the field and not from the mechanism per se. The contribution of this experiment is to make explicit where anomalies in responses to the double referendum mechanism arise.
	Link to paper:	Not available

	Session / Day / Time	5F / Tuesday / 8:00 - 10:00 am

	Please use your browser's "back" button to get to the previous page.