How Can Behavioral Economics Inform Nonmarket Valuation? An Example from the Preference Reversal Literature

Abstract

Psychological insights have made inroads within most areas of study in economics. One area where less advance has occurred is environmental and resource economics. In this study, we examine preference reversals over evaluation modes, in which economic values critically depend on whether a good is valued jointly with others, or in isolation. The question arises because two methods for eliciting stated preferences differ in that one presents objects together and another presents them in isolation. Our empirical evidence demonstrates the import of behavioral economics and sheds new light on the possible insensitivity of valuations to the scope of the good. (JEL Q51)