TY - JOUR
T1 - Sad or happy? The effects of emotions on stated preferences for environmental goods
AU - Hanley, Nick
AU - Boyce, Christopher
AU - Czajkowski, Mikołaj
AU - Tucker, Steve
AU - Noussair, Charles
AU - Townsend, Michael
N1 - The authors thank MASTS (the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland) for funding the experimental work, the University of Waikato Distinguished Visitors fund for funding Hanley’s research visit during which the empirical work was undertaken, and Leo Xiong for programming the experiment. MC gratefully acknowledges the support of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Foundation for Polish Science.
PY - 2017/12
Y1 - 2017/12
N2 - A substantial literature in behavioural science and psychology shows that emotions affect human choices and values. This paper investigates whether such emotional impacts are also present in stated choice experiments for environmental goods. If this were so, it would introduce an additional element of context dependence to the welfare measures derived from such methods, and would be at odds with the rational choice model underlying welfare economics. A laboratory experiment using three different emotion treatments was combined with a stated preference choice experiment concerned with changes in coastal water quality and fish populations in New Zealand. No statistically significant effects of changes in emotional state on estimated preference parameters, willingness to pay or the randomness of choices were found. The paper concludes by questioning, why such a contrast exists with empirical findings in behavioural science.
AB - A substantial literature in behavioural science and psychology shows that emotions affect human choices and values. This paper investigates whether such emotional impacts are also present in stated choice experiments for environmental goods. If this were so, it would introduce an additional element of context dependence to the welfare measures derived from such methods, and would be at odds with the rational choice model underlying welfare economics. A laboratory experiment using three different emotion treatments was combined with a stated preference choice experiment concerned with changes in coastal water quality and fish populations in New Zealand. No statistically significant effects of changes in emotional state on estimated preference parameters, willingness to pay or the randomness of choices were found. The paper concludes by questioning, why such a contrast exists with empirical findings in behavioural science.
KW - Choice experiments
KW - Behavioural economics
KW - Environmental valuation
KW - Emotions
KW - Cost-benefit analysis
UR - https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10640-016-0048-9/MediaObjects/10640_2016_48_MOESM1_ESM.xlsx
U2 - 10.1007/s10640-016-0048-9
DO - 10.1007/s10640-016-0048-9
M3 - Article
SN - 0924-6460
VL - 68
SP - 821
EP - 846
JO - Environmental and Resource Economics
JF - Environmental and Resource Economics
IS - 4
ER -