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Estimating Hypothetical Bias in Economically Emergent Africa: A Generic Public Good Experiment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Arthur J. Caplan ,
David Aadland  and
Anthony Macharia
Arthur J. Caplan
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Economics at Utah State University in Logan, Utah
David Aadland
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming
Anthony Macharia
Affiliation:
Department of Economics at the University of Botswana in Gaborone, Botswana
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Abstract

This paper reports results from a contingent valuation based public good experiment conducted in the African nation of Botswana. In a sample of university students, we find evidence that stated willingness to contribute to a public good in a hypothetical setting is higher than actual contribution levels. However, results from regression analysis suggest that this is true only in the second round of the experiment, when participants making actual contributions have learned to significantly lower their contribution levels. As globalization expands markets, and economies such as Botswana's continue to modernize, there is a growing need to understand how hypothetical bias will influence the valuation of public goods.

Keywords

hypothetical biaspublic goodwillingness to payBotswana
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 39 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 344 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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