Does the solemn oath lower WTP responses in a discrete choice experiment application to solar energy?

Jamal Mamkhezri, Jennifer A. Thacher, Janie Chermak and Robert Berrens

Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2020, vol. 9, issue 4, 447-473

Abstract: A recently offered alternative to eliminating or mitigating hypothetical bias associated with stated preference surveys is the solemn oath script. While the efficacy of solemn oath script is still debatable, the objective of this analysis is to provide an initial field setting test of the solemn oath script to a particular discrete choice experiment survey application to solar energy. We conducted a discrete choice experiment survey with two treatment groups: with and without having respondents sign the solemn oath prior to taking the survey. Utilizing random parameter logit models in both preference-space and willingness to pay (WTP)-space, results provide no evidence that the solemn oath script lowers respondents’ WTP for the good in question. Either there is no hypothetical bias in this solar energy case study, which we are unable to test as there is no real expenditure at issue, or the solemn oath script may have limited application outside of the experimental lab and is not effective under every condition. Lastly, this calls for more research on the efficacy of a solemn oath script.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/21606544.2020.1738276 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

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: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:teepxx:v:9:y:2020:i:4:p:447-473

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/teep20

DOI: 10.1080/21606544.2020.1738276

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy is currently edited by Ken Willis

More articles in Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().