 Self-image and valuation of moral goods: Stated versus actual willingness to payOlof Johansson-Stenman () and Henrik Svedsäter Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2012, vol. 84, issue 3, 879-891 Abstract: Hypothetical bias in stated-preference methods appears sometimes to be very large, and other times non-existent. This is here largely explained by a model where people derive utility from a positive self-image associated with morally commendable behavior. The results of a choice experiment are consistent with the predictions of this model; the hypothetical marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for a moral good (contributions to a WWF project) is significantly higher than the corresponding real-money MWTP, whereas no hypothetical bias is seen for an amoral good (a restaurant voucher). Moreover, the evidence suggests that also the real-money MWTP for the moral good is biased upwards, in the sense that it appears to be higher within than outside the experimental context. Keywords: Stated-preference methods; Choice experiment; Hypothetical bias; Self-image; Non-market valuation; Warm glow (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:84:y:2012:i:3:p:879-891 DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2012.10.006 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization is currently edited by Houser, D. and Puzzello, D. More articles in Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.