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on Discrete Choice Models |
| By: | Chung, Colin |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how educational messaging and the timing of attitudinal questions influence stated consumer preferences for sustainable product components. A choice-based conjoint (CBC) survey was deployed to 720 U.S. adults, randomized into four groups with varying exposure to sustainability messaging and priming. Compared to the control group, respondents who were exposed to messaging and priming showed an additional 7–17 percentage point increase in preference share for products with recycled components. The attribute importance of sustainability-related features rose by approximately 4–7 percentage points, and marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) increased by $11–$71 relative to the control group. These results demonstrate how survey design can measurably impact research outcomes and the importance of educational messaging in improving willingness to pay. |
| Date: | 2025–05–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:t5fv4_v1 |
| By: | Howai, Niko; Balcombe, Kelvin; Robinson, Elizabeth |
| Abstract: | Governments have long faced potential trade-offs between economic development and protecting nature. This is particularly true for tropical and sub-tropical islands where most mangroves are found. Motivated by Trinidad and Tobago’s central government’s prior hotel development plans, we employ a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to investigate residents’ preferences for mangrove ecosystem services (ES) in the Bon Accord Lagoon and Buccoo Bay, Tobago. Preferences were investigated in the context of a trade-off between conserving mangroves and promoting economic development through a hypothetical hotel project in the study area. We use a Hierarchical Bayesian Logit Model, exploring two distinct payment horizons, 5 and 25-years, undertaken independently and also merged in models that allow for choice certainty and individual characteristics. We find that respondents have consistent willingness-to-pay (WTP) for mangrove ES and exhibit general insensitivity to the payment horizons due to perceived disbenefits associated with mangrove loss from hotel development. The DCE and ex-post (follow-up) interviews suggest that there is strong public support for policies aimed at long-term protection of mangroves |
| Keywords: | discrete choice experiment; ecosystem services; payment horizons; choice certainty; ex-post interviews; Hierarchical Bayesian Logit; mangroves |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2025–05–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128167 |
| By: | Massimo Anelli; Felix Koenig |
| Abstract: | We develop a revealed preference approach to measure the value of workplace amenities by analyzing how variation in non-wage job attributes affects excess mass in the earnings distribution at budget discontinuities. The approach formalizes the idea that workers are less responsive to monetary incentives when amenities constitute a larger share of total compensation. Applying this method to workplace safety during COVID-19 waves, we find that workers are willing to sacrifice 9% of their earnings to reduce weekly fatality risks by one in 100, 000. The findings suggest that conventional hedonic regressions substantially under-estimate the value of workplace safety. |
| Keywords: | non-wage amenities, labor supply, bunching, workplace safety, value of life, job satisfaction |
| Date: | 2025–05–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2100 |
| By: | Lergetporer, Philipp (Technical University of Munich); Rittmannsberger, Thomas (Technical University of Munich); Werner, Katharina (ifo Institute, University of Munich); Zeidler, Helen (Technical University of Munich) |
| Abstract: | We study anchoring effects in the elicitation of multidimensional beliefs within a single survey task using a representative sample of the German voting-age population. Respondents estimated government-spending levels across several domains (e.g., education, defense, social security), with randomized exposure to different informational anchors in one domain. Anchors significantly influence elicited beliefs in related domains and partially also shift respondents’ policy preferences. While the anchors change absolute estimates, perceived government-spending rankings remain stable. These findings offer methodological guidance for survey design involving multidimensional belief elicitation in information-provision experiments. |
| Keywords: | survey, beliefs, experiment, anchoring, government spending |
| JEL: | D83 C83 C90 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17931 |
| By: | Holden, Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Tione, Sarah (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Tilahun, Mesfin (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Katengeza, Samson (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Multiple Price Lists (MPLs) or Choice Lists (CLs) are widely used to elicit risk and time preferences, yet are prone to cognitive biases, particularly among respondents with limited numeracy skills. This paper compares three elicitation approaches; row-by-row from the top, from the bottom, and a Rapid Elicitation (RE) method using random starting points; in a field experiment with 906 rural Malawian farmers. With 20 MPLs per subject, we estimate starting point and order biases in switch points using nonparametric and parametric methods. Row-by-row elicitation from the top or bottom introduces significant bias in preference elicitation, with effect sizes of up to 0.4 standard deviations. In contrast, the RE approach yields significantly lower starting point bias (Cohen’s d of 0.08 or less). Order effects were present but smaller in magnitude. RE also reduced cognitive load and shortened response time. These findings underscore the importance of the elicitation method in experimental design, particularly in low-literacy settings. The RE method offers a more reliable and scalable tool for eliciting behavioral preferences in development economics. |
| Keywords: | Multiple Price Lists; Elicitation method; Starting point bias; Order bias; Field experiment; Malawi |
| JEL: | C93 D81 D91 |
| Date: | 2025–06–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2025_003 |
| By: | De Martini, Santiago; Gonzalez, Juan B.; Perez-Vincent, Santiago M. |
| Abstract: | Public urban transportation systems are essential for mitigating climate change, leading policymakers to intensify efforts to boost ridership. However, there is not much evidence showing up to what extent, in regions with high crime rates like Latin America, safety perception could limit these efforts. This paper studies the impact of crime and crime perception on public transport demand across six Latin American capitals. Using a sample of 5, 160 participants, we conduct three preregistered experiments to quantify the impact of crime on public transport choices and policy preferences. In the first experiment, we estimate the willingness to pay for safety by offering participants a choice between buses with varying crime rates and fares. We find that users place a substantial premium (51% of the current bus ticket) on safer transport options. The second experiment explores the substitution effect between private and public transport, revealing that higher crime rates diminish the likelihood of choosing public transport, even when offered at a reduced fare. The third experiment examines how crime perception influences public support for different transport policies. Our results show that a higher crime perception shifts support toward crime reduction initiatives at the expense of service efficiency and environmental policies. These results highlight the need for policies that integrate safety improvements to increase public transport ridership and contribute to climate change mitigation. |
| Keywords: | Public Transportation;Crime;environmental policy effectiveness;Experiments |
| JEL: | R41 R48 C91 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14139 |
| By: | Andor, Mark Andreas; Hönow, Nils Christian; Hümmecke, Eva; Yang, Eva H. |
| Abstract: | This data report describes the first wave of the RWI Climate-Mobility Panel, a recurring household survey that aims in particular to investigate individual mobility behavior and preferences with regard to mobility-related policies. It further includes information on attitudes towards environmental protection and climate change of household members in Germany as well as on socio-economic individual and household characteristics. The project was conducted by the RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and funded by Stiftung Mercator. This first survey includes data from more than 7, 000 German households and was collected via forsa from April to June 2018. In combination with subsequent waves in 2019, 2022 and 2024, it is possible to monitor, for example, changes in mobility behavior and policy preferences over time. This first survey contains additional cross-sectional data on several transport-related topics, such as an assessment of the perceived costs of private car use and an experiment to assess participants' willingness to pay for public transport tickets, as well as selected psychological scales. This uniquely comprehensive dataset serves as a support to enable novel research and evidence-based policy decisions in the context of the mobility and transport transition. |
| Abstract: | Die vorliegende Datensatzbeschreibung bezieht sich auf die erste Welle des RWI Klima-Mobilitäts-Panels, einer regelmäßig durchgeführten Haushaltsbefragung, die insbesondere das individuelle Mobilitätsverhalten und die Zustimmung zu verkehrspolitischen Maßnahmen erfasst. Darüber hinaus wird die Einstellung zu Umweltschutz und Klimawandel abgefragt, ebenso wie sozioökonomische Merkmale. Das Projekt wurde vom RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung durchgeführt und von der Stiftung Mercator gefördert. Die erste Welle umfasst Daten von mehr als 7.000 Haushalten in Deutschland und wurde von April bis Juni 2018 von forsa erhoben. In Kombination mit den Wellen in den Jahren 2019, 2022 und 2024 können beispielsweise Veränderungen im Mobilitätsverhalten und in den Präferenzen für verkehrspolitische Maßnahmen im Zeitverlauf beobachtet werden. Zusätzlich enthält diese erste Erhebung Querschnittsdaten zu verschiedenen verkehrsrelevanten Themen, wie z. B. eine Einschätzung der wahrgenommenen Kosten der privaten Pkw-Nutzung und ein Experiment zur Ermittlung der Zahlungsbereitschaft für ÖPNV-Tickets, sowie ausgewählte psychologische Skalen. Dieser in seiner Art einzigartige und umfassende Datensatz dient als Grundlage für neue Forschungsarbeiten und evidenzbasierte politische Entscheidungen im Zusammenhang der Mobilitäts- und Verkehrswende. |
| Keywords: | Household panel, mobility, climate change, transport transition, acceptance, public transport, private transport |
| JEL: | D12 D83 L91 Q58 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:319073 |
| By: | Søren Bo Nielsen; Dirk Schindler; Guttorm Schjelderup |
| Abstract: | We study how the OECD transfer pricing guidelines aimed at curbing tax-motivated transfer pricing practices affect investment incentives. Our theoretical model integrates the different OECD's transfer pricing methods into the tax planning cost function of an MNC to evaluate how the choice of transfer price and quantity produced determine the amount of profit shifted. When the transfer pricing method used emphasizes the choice of transfer price over the choice of the quantity of the intermediate good, tax-motivated transfer pricing has positive investment effects. However, when the transfer pricing method treats profit shifting by price and quantity symmetrically, tax-motivated transfer pricing does not impact investment on the intensive margin. Our study has potential policy implications and also produces suggestions for empirical research on transfer pricing and investment. |
| Keywords: | multinational corporations, corporate tax avoidance, transfer pricing, OECD transfer pricing rules, investment effects |
| JEL: | H25 F23 M48 H26 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11887 |
| By: | Omar Chisari; Antonio Estache |
| Abstract: | We rely on a simple choice model of hospital-capacity decisions to highlight the relevance of policymakers’ behavioural biases in the management of health care demand uncertainty. We show that matching ex-ante the design of the fiscal approach to financing hospitals with the policymakers’ behavioural biases could reduce care-rationing risks. However, the effectiveness of the financing choice also depends on the levels of operational and social costs the policymakers decide to work with in their assessments of needs. The model can also be used ex-post to reveal undeclared behavioural biases and use this information to improve future financing policy designs. |
| Keywords: | Uncertainty, behavioural biases, hospital capacity, health care financing, social cost valuation |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/391422 |
| By: | Stephane Hess; David Bunch; Andrew Daly |
| Abstract: | Choice modellers routinely acknowledge the risk of convergence to inferior local optima when using structures other than a simple linear-in-parameters logit model. At the same time, there is no consensus on appropriate mechanisms for addressing this issue. Most analysts seem to ignore the problem, while others try a set of different starting values, or put their faith in what they believe to be more robust estimation approaches. This paper puts forward the use of a profile likelihood approach that systematically analyses the parameter space around an initial maximum likelihood estimate and tests for the existence of better local optima in that space. We extend this to an iterative algorithm which then progressively searches for the best local optimum under given settings for the algorithm. Using a well known stated choice dataset, we show how the approach identifies better local optima for both latent class and mixed logit, with the potential for substantially different policy implications. In the case studies we conduct, an added benefit of the approach is that the new solutions exhibit properties that more closely adhere to the property of asymptotic normality, also highlighting the benefits of the approach in analysing the statistical properties of a solution. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.02722 |
| By: | Stanislas Rigal (UMR TETIS - Territoires, Environnement, Télédétection et Information Spatiale - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - AgroParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, ESE - Ecologie Systématique et Evolution - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Coralie Calvet (MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - UM - Université de Montpellier, SENS - Savoirs, ENvironnement et Sociétés - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - UMPV - Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry); Léa Tardieu (UMR TETIS - Territoires, Environnement, Télédétection et Information Spatiale - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - AgroParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Sébastien Roussel (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - UM - Université de Montpellier); Anne-Charlotte Vaissière (ESE - Ecologie Systématique et Evolution - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ECOBIO - Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution [Rennes] - UR - Université de Rennes - INEE-CNRS - Institut Ecologie et Environnement - CNRS Ecologie et Environnement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - OSERen - Observatoire des sciences de l'environnement de Rennes - UR - Université de Rennes - INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers - UR2 - Université de Rennes 2 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | Transport infrastructures dedicated to low-carbon public transport are seen as a central tool in public policy strategies to mitigate climate change. Yet, the development of transport infrastructures has significant direct and indirect negative effects on biodiversity and social acceptability of these impacts remain little assessed. In this study, we analyse potential impacts of 20 tramway existing projects in France and social preferences with regard to their ecological and landscape integration. Using a discrete choice experiment on 1000 respondents, we show that users, even the most time constrained, are accepting an average travel time lengthening of 15 %, if tramway project integration retains a more wooded landscape, more diverse and abundant species and access to a natural area. We show that brief information provided on the state of biodiversity through framing encourages environmental consideration. We quantify the estimated impact of these projects on the naturalness of habitats and the buffer effect that project ecological integration could allow. These results highlight the non-negligible ecological impact of low-carbon transport infrastructures. They underline the need to consider climate change mitigation strategies in tandem with biodiversity preservation, while taking into account user preferences which affect the acceptability of the ecological and landscape integration of these projects. |
| Keywords: | Choice experiment, Tram, Transport policy, Urban biodiversity |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05085536 |
| By: | Juan M. Rodriguez-Poo; Alexandra Soberon; Stefan Sperlich |
| Abstract: | We consider identification, inference and validation of linear panel data models when both factors and factor loadings are accounted for by a nonparametric function. This general specification encompasses rather popular models such as the two-way fixed effects and the interactive fixed effects ones. By applying a conditional mean independence assumption between unobserved heterogeneity and the covariates, we obtain consistent estimators of the parameters of interest at the optimal rate of convergence, for fixed and large $T$. We also provide a specification test for the modeling assumption based on the methodology of conditional moment tests and nonparametric estimation techniques. Using degenerate and nondegenerate theories of U-statistics we show its convergence and asymptotic distribution under the null, and that it diverges under the alternative at a rate arbitrarily close to $\sqrt{NT}$. Finite sample inference is based on bootstrap. Simulations reveal an excellent performance of our methods and an empirical application is conducted. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.10690 |