BID IMPRECISION AS A SOURCE OF HYPOTHETICAL BIAS IN CONTINGENT VALUATION ESTIMATION: ANALYSIS OF A SURVEY OF RESPONDENT’S ATTITUDES FOR THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON STATE HISTORIC SITE (SHS)

The discussion of hypothetical bias has been an important aspect of the development of stated preference non-market valuation techniques. A variety of sources of hypothetical bias have been discussed in the literature, but no research has been done on the possible bias introduced by the actual form of the bid. The possibility exists that respondents may react to bids in round dollars differently than to bids that include both dollar and cent amounts. We test whether the use of a precise versus imprecise bid design influences respondent’s willingness to pay, and show that bid imprecision does indeed introduce hypothetical bias.