Sequencing Anomalies in Choice Experiments

Brett Day () and Jose Luis Pinto Prades ()
Additional contact information
Brett Day: School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia.
Jose Luis Pinto Prades: Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Jose-Luis Pinto-Prades

No 08.10, Working Papers from Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper investigates whether responses to choice experiments (CEs) are subject to sequencing anomalies. While previous research has focussed on the possibility that such anomalies relate to position in the sequence of choice tasks, our research reveals that the particular sequence of tasks matters. Using a novel experimental design that allows us to test our hypotheses using robust nonparametric statistics, we observe sequencing anomalies in CE data similar to those recorded in the dichotomous choice contingent valuation literature. Those sequencing effects operate in both price and commodity dimensions and are observed to compound over a series of choice tasks. Our findings cast serious doubt on the current practice of asking each respondent to undertake several choice tasks in a CE whilst treating each response as an independent observation on that individual’s preferences.

Keywords: Choice experiments; sequencing anomalies; ordering effects; dichotomous choice contingent valuation; non-parametric testing. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q51 C14 I10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-ecm and nep-exp
Date: 2008-09
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations Track citations by RSS feed

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.upo.es/serv/bib/wps/econ0810.pdf First version, 2008 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pab:wpaper:08.10

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics
Address: Carretera de Utrera km.1, 41013 Sevilla
Contact information at EDIRC.
Series data maintained by Rocío Fernández ().