RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Preference Uncertainty, Preference Learning, and Paired Comparison Experiments
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 530
OP 544
DO 10.3368/le.86.3.530
VO 86
IS 3
A1 David C. Kingsley
A1 Thomas C. Brown
YR 2010
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/86/3/530.abstract
AB Results from paired comparison experiments suggest that as respondents progress through a sequence of binary choices they become more consistent, apparently fine-tuning their preferences. Consistency may be indicated by the variance of the estimated valuation distribution measured by the error term in the random utility model. A significant reduction in the variance is shown to be consistent with a model of preference uncertainty allowing for preference learning. Respondents become more adept at discriminating among items as they gain experience considering and comparing them, suggesting that methods allowing for such experience may obtain more well founded values. (JEL C25, D83)