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Abstract
Stated preference survey data from North Carolina households is used to estimate willingness to pay for different types of coastal erosion management programs. Hypothetical bias is a known obstacle in performing valid contingent valuation studies. The incentive compatibility of the survey response depends on the respondent believing that their response will have real consequences that they are invested in financially and emotionally. Debriefing statements presented at the end of the survey are incorporated into micro-economic models of willingness to pay to test for consequentiality and validity. We find that respondents who do not believe that their response will affect policy decisions or that the state government can accomplish the goals of the management programs have a significantly lower willingness to pay. The results have important implications for improved survey design as well as opportunities for improving the messaging of local, state, and federal entities.