VISIBLE CHOICE SETS AND SCOPE SENSITIVITY IN CONTINGENT VALUES

Through a combination of experimental and field analysis, we demonstrate that varying the visible choice set (i.e., set of goods which, at any given point in a valuation exercise, the respondent perceives as being the full extent of purchase options which will be made available in the course of that exercise) strongly affects observed scope. These results challenge the conclusion that contingent values are plagued by embedding and ordering effects, suggesting that such effects can be eliminated when the respondent is completely informed about the entirety of valuation tasks prior to answering the first elicitation question.