Basic economic theory predicts that a consumer’s willingness to pay for a good is affected by the availability of complements and substitutes. In an auction setting, this theory implies that the presence of complements would increase bid prices for a good, while the presence of substitutes...

We report the results of an experiment designed to test whether initial endowments affect value estimates elicited from experimental auctions. Comparing bids for one unit of a good, two units of a good, and a second unit of a good when endowed with the first unit, we find that willingness to pay...

In most experimental auctions, researchers ask participants to bid on the same item in multiple potentially binding rounds, posting the price submitted by the top bidder or bidders after each of those rounds. If bids submitted in later rounds are affiliated with posted prices from earlier...

Policymakers are considering including stricter standards in international trade agreements. Using auctions to assess preferences, we find that the median consumer places no premium on fair trade foods produced under more stringent labor and environmental standards. This indicates that current...

Choice experiments (CEs) are an increasingly important tool in the environmental valuation literature because of their ability to deal with multifaceted environmental issues and their basis in random utility theory. One particularly useful aspect of the CE method is that it allows researchers to...

We use two different experimental valuation methods to estimate consumer demand for genetically-modified golden rice. The first is an open-ended choice experiment (OECE) where participants name the quantities of golden rice and conventional rice demanded at each of several price combinations,...

Experimental auctions are generally thought of as static markets. This paper presents the results of an experimental auction designed to test whether participants’ perceptions regarding the relative difficulty of delaying or reversing a transaction outside of the experimental market...

This classroom exercise illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of various regulatory frameworks aimed at internalizing negative externalities from pollution. Specifically, the exercise divides students into three groups—the government regulatory agency and two polluting firms—and allows...

The aesthetic quality of water resources is often assumed to be valuable to society, yet few robust estimates of this value have been reported in the limnological literature. Because entire lakes and rivers are not bought and sold regularly, their aesthetic value cannot be determined by...