Hypothetical referenda have been proposed as an incentive- compatible mechanism that can be used to obtain social valuations of environmental resources. We employ experimental methods to test the hypothesis that such referenda are indeed incentive compatible. Our results lead us to reject that...

There seems to be little doubt that the presumptive absence of hypothetical bias in CVM surveys is invalid. It is invalid as a general proposition, since the experiments surveyed here provide special cases when it is demonstrably false. The importance of these experimental results is that they...

The evidence for hypothetical bias over uncertain outcomes is reviewed. Consistent with the evidence for deterministic outcomes, it appears that subjects respond differently to risky prospects when they face real economic consequences of their choices instead of hypothetical economic...