Economic Valuation by the Method of Paired Comparison, with Emphasis on Evaluation of the Transitivity Axiom

The paired comparison (PC) method is used to investigate reliability, transitivity, and decision time for binary choices among goods and sums of money. The PC method reveals inconsistent choices and yields individual preference order over the set of items being compared. The data reported support the transitivity assumption and demonstrate high reliability for individual preference order. The paper also discusses using the PC method to obtain conservative median and mean estimates of willingness to accept compensation for public and private goods. The PC method may prove useful for valuing public goods, and warrants further study.