By: |
Erlend Dancke Sandorf (The Norwegian College of Fishery Science, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway);
Danny Campbell (Economics Division, University of Stirling, Scotland);
Nick Hanley (School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews) |
Abstract: |
This paper seeks to disentangle the effect of knowledge on processing
strategies using data from a discrete choice experiment on cold-water corals
in Norway. Cold-water corals are a deep-sea ecosystem for which we have
limited scientific knowledge and for which public awareness is low, and
consequently is likely to be an unfamiliar good to many members of the public.
One simplifying strategy often employed by respondents in a choice experiment
is to simply ignore some of the attributes, i.e. attribute non-attendance.
After the initial presentation of the good, before answering the choice cards,
the respondents were given a quiz over the material covered in the
presentation. This provides us with an ex ante measure of their knowledge. We
use a combination of discrete and continuous mixture models to disentangle the
effects of variations in knowledge about the good. We use a respondent’s quiz
score as covariates in the probability function of attending to an attribute.
Our results show that knowledge, as measured by the quiz score, has a
significant effect on the probability of attending to the attribute for three
out of four attributes. This has direct implication for practitioners in that
proper information may help avoid the use of simplifying strategies. |
Keywords: |
Attribute Non-Attendance, Discrete Choice Experiment, Knowledge, Attribute Processing Strategies, Cold water coral, ecosystem services |
JEL: |
Q51 Q57 |
Date: |
2015–02 |
URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sss:wpaper:2015-02&r=dcm |