Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB Experiment A Laboratory Experiment to determine how people look at environmental goods
Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB What you have zBren Bucks – 10 per student (sheet—you cut) zYou will have an opportunity to use or acquire Bren Bucks in buying and selling plants zAt the end, you can buy REAL THINGS with your Bren bucks z2 Bren Bucks: one extra point on homeworks z3 Bren Bucks: Bren School collector recycled pen (RARE) z7 Bren Bucks: autographed (hopefully) color print of your favorite Bren personality zA bid form for one of four “treatments” (a treatment is a set of experimental conditions).
Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB Each Treatment Involves: zStudents move to front of room when their treatment is time zTreatments 1 & 3: you are selling plants to me – bid the lowest price you will accept zWinning price picked from hat – if you bid below, you win: you give up plant and get price (not bid) zEg – you bid 4, the price is 6: you give up plant and get 6 zTreatments 2 & 4: you are buying plants from me – bid the highest you are willing to pay zWinning price picked from hat – if you bid higher, you win: you receive plant and pay price (not what you bid) zEg – you bid 4, the price is 2: you get plant for 2.
Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB Boyce et al (1992) paper zProblem: disparity between WTA and WTP zQuestion: can intrinsic values exist and explain this? zDo people place value on preventing needless destruction of living things beyond instrumental value? zResults suggest there is additional value associated either with intrinsic value or moral responsibility
Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB Results
Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB Issues zDid respondents exhibit non- instrumental values? Significant? zWhat improvements in experimental method can you see? zPayments? zRepetitions? zNature of good?