VALUING PUBLIC-GOODS - DISCRETE VERSUS CONTINUOUS CONTINGENT-VALUATION RESPONSES

Independent applications of open-ended and dichotomous-choice formats are compared using tests of means, estimating joint likelihood functio ns and nonparametric tests of distributions. The null hypothesis of no difference in the open-ended and dichotomous-choice estimates of cent ral tendency cannot be rejected for two out of three data sets, while estimated standard deviations are significantly different for all thre e data sets. In addition, actual dichotomous-choice means and standard deviations exceed those from comparable synthetic dichotomous-choice data sets, suggesting either open-ended questions underestimate values or dichotomous-choice bid structures may lead to systematic overestim ates.