How Deliberation Affects Stated Willingness to Pay for Mitigation of Carbon Dioxide Emissions: An Experiment

Respondents reported willingness to pay (WTP) for mitigating carbon dioxide emissions after structured group discussion or without this deliberation. Deliberation did not affect mean or median WTP, but it increased the number of issues respondents considered, with some issues becoming more frequently considered and others less. Survey-only respondents considered issues relevant for responding to a request for a charitable contribution; group-mode participants considered issues relevant for a public policy assessment. Findings suggest that ordinary citizens can offer valid input to environmental policy decisions, but that framing effects in ordinary WTP surveys may prevent them from providing such input.