Abstract
In this note we conduct construct validity tests for dichotomous choice (DC) and polychotomous choice (PC) contingent valuation questions. Contrary to previous results, we find that DC and PC estimates of willingness to pay are theoretically valid, convergent valid, and similar in terms of statistical precision. Similar to previous results, PC respondents are less sensitive to information than DC respondents. We conclude that DC and PC valuation questions are construct valid for this study. Sequential PC valuation questions could be used in studies where obtaining information about the certainty or intensity of respondent preferences would be useful.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arrow, Kenneth, Robert Solow, Edward Leamer, Paul Portney, Roy Radner, and Howard Schuman (1993), Report of the NOAA Panel on Contingent Valuation, Federal Register 58, 4602–4614.
Bishop, George F. (1978), 'Experiments with the Middle Response Alternative in Survey Questions', Public Opinion Quarterly 51, 220–232.
Blomquist, Glenn C. and John C. Whitehead (forthcoming), 'Resource Quality Information and Validity of Willingness to Pay in Contingent Valuation', Resource and Energy Economics.
Boyle, Kevin J. and Richard C. Bishop (1988), 'Welfare Measurements Using Contingent Valuation, A Comparison of Techniques', American Journal of Agricultural Economics 70, 20–28.
Boyle, Kevin J., William H. Desvousges, F. Reed Johnson, Richard W. Dunford, and Sara Hudson (1994), 'An Investigation of Part-Whole Biases in Contingent Valuation Studies', Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 27, 64–83.
Cameron, Trudy Ann (1988), 'A New Paradigm for Valuing Non-Market Goods Using Referendum Data: Maximum Likelihood Estimation by Censored Logistic Regression', Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 15, 355–379.
Cameron, Trudy Ann (1991), 'Interval Estimates of Non-Market Resource Values from Referendum Contingent Valuation Surveys', Land Economics 67, 413–421.
Cameron, Trudy Ann (1992), 'Combining Contingent Valuation and Travel Cost Data for the Valuation of Non-market Goods', Land Economics 68, 302–317.
Carson, Richard T. and Robert Cameron Mitchell (1995), 'Sequencing and Nesting in Contingent Valuation Surveys', Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 28, 155–173.
Cooper, Joseph C. (1994), 'A Comparison of Approaches to Calculating Confidence Intervals for Benefit Measures from Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation Surveys', Land Economics 70, 111–122.
Freeman, A. Myrick, III (1993), The Measurement of Environmental and Resource Values: Theory and Methods, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC.
Greene, William H. (1995), LIMDEP: Version 7.0 User's Manual, Econometric Software, New York, NY.
Jakus, Paul M. (1995), 'Averting Behavior in the Presence of Public Spillovers: Household Control of Nuisance Pests', Land Economics 70, 273–285.
Johannesson, Magnus, Per-Olov Johansson, Bengt Kriström, and Ulf-G. Gerdtham (1993), 'Willingness to Pay for Anti-Hypertensive Therapy - Further Results', Journal of Health Economics 12, 95–108.
Kriström, Bengt (1993), 'Comparing Continuous and Discrete Contingent Valuation Questions', Environmental and Resource Economics 3, 63–71.
Li, Chuan-Zhong and Leif Mattsson (1995), 'Discrete Choice under Preference Uncertainty: An Improved Structural Model for Contingent Valuation', Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 28, 256–269.
Mitchell, Robert Cameron and Richard T. Carson (1989), Using Surveys to Value Public Goods, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC.
Poe, Gregory L., Eric K. Severance-Lossin and Michael P. Welsh (1994), 'Measuring the Difference of Simulated Distributions: A Convolutions Approach', American Journal of Agricultural Economics 76, 904–915.
Ready, Richard C., John C. Whitehead, and Glenn C. Blomquist (1995), 'Contingent Valuation When Respondents are Ambivalent', Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 29, 181–196.
Swallow, Stephen K., Thomas F. Weaver, and James J. Opaluch (1993), 'Ordered-Response Model for Ordinarily Dichotomous Referendum, Contingent Choice Data', Paper presented to the 1993 Annual Meeting of the American Economics Association, Orlando, Florida.
Whitehead, John C. (1995), 'Willingness to Pay for Quality Improvements: Comparative Statics and Theoretical Interpretations of Contingent Valuation Results', Land Economics 71, 207–215.
Whitehead, John C. and Glenn C. Blomquist, Thomas J. Hoban, and William B. Clifford (1995),' Assessing the Validity and Reliability of Contingent Values: A Comparison of On-Site Users, Off-Site Users, and Non-Users', Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 29, 238–251.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Whitehead, J.C., Huang, JC., Blomquist, G.C. et al. Construct Validity of Dichotomous and Polychotomous Choice Contingent Valuation Questions. Environmental and Resource Economics 11, 107–116 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008231430184
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008231430184