Analysis of consumer preferences for information and expert opinion using a discrete choice experiment

We present a study of consumer preferences for information in wine purchases. Consumers are presented with extra information in the form of qualitative product descriptions and quantitative expert ratings. We implement a discrete choice exper- iment in which we vary experimentally the presence of the descriptions and ratings and the values of the ratings themselves. Respondents are asked to choose amongst a set of 5 wine bottles in a sequence of 21 choice scenarios. We find that the presence of extra information and high expert ratings have a significant impact on the will- ingness to pay for a given wine. The dispersion of ratings for a given wine does not affect respondents’ choices. In our estimates high average ratings by experts carry a premium of AUD $10.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

God Would Certainly Scold! : Understanding Religion, Sex, and Nonconformity Through an Analysis of Dickinson\u27s Over the fence– and Surrounding Poems

While a single poem of Dickinson\u27s is full of meaning, analyzing the pieces that she placed before it thickens an initial understanding with additional perspective and nuance. To receive a fuller sense of Dickinson\u27s interpretations of her final poem of one of her handbound collections, Fascicle 11, Over the fence— we analyze select poems of the eight sheets that proceed it. In nine lines, Over the fence— encapsulates the scope of Fascicle 11, depicting the ways in which women are both judged and limited within the social climate of 19th century America and within Christian religious communities. In this fascicle, Dickinson suggests through her speakers that nonconformity, while an honest and exploratory stance, brings with it negative social and religious ramifications. Understanding Dickinson‚Äôs commentary on this theme is fundamental to recognizing Dickinson\u27s fluctuation as a religious believer, to appreciating the subversiveness of her work in context with the conventional literary boundaries of her time, and to learning about the experience of women in 19th century America. This analysis is informed by theories about her nimble believing, a type of oscillation Dickinson exhibited between euphoric moments of belief and stark moments of disbelief. This argument will follow Dickinson\u27s speaker through the eight sheets of the eleventh fascicle, focusing on images and transitions between poems to better understand the fascicle\u27s main theme. By identifying prevalent themes in the fascicle then comparing them to themes in Dickinson\u27s letters and biographies, we can come to understand the most plausible intended interpretation of Over the fence—.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2020/1042/thumbnail.jp

A Comparison of Elasticities Derived from Multinomial Logit, Nested Logit and Heteroscedastic Extreme Value SP-RP Discrete Choice Models

Developments in the estimation of discrete choice models which relax elements of the independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) property of the multinomial logit model (MNL) provide opportunities to explore the richer behavioural sensitivity of a choice model to changes in the levels of attributes influencing choice. Surprisingly, the literature offers limited evidence on the variations in sensitivity (ie elasticity) as we move from an MNL model based on revealed preference (RP) data, to MNL based on stated preference (SP) data, to combined RP-SP data estimated sequentially and jointly with partial relaxation of the differential variance in the unobserved effects by the ‘nested logit’ method, and then as free variance across all RP and SP alternatives by heteroscedastic extreme value (HEV) estimation. This paper draws on a data set collected in 6 Australian capital cities in 1994 to estimate a series of commuter mode choice models in the presence and absence of two ‘new’ alternatives (light rail and busway systems), to derive matrices of direct and cross point elasticities for travel cost and travel time. The evidence suggests that constraining the variance of the unobserved effects to varying degrees tends to over-estimate the elasticities sufficiently to distort the real behavioural sensitivity of specific attributes influencing choice. Furthermore, we seriously question the usefulness of studies which rely solely on SP data

Modelling preference heterogeneity in stated choice data: an analysis for public goods generated by agriculture

Stated choice models based on the random utility framework are becoming increasingly popular in the applied economics literature. The need to account for respondents’ preference heterogeneity in such models has motivated researchers in agricultural, environmental, health and transport economics to apply random parameter logit and latent class models. In most of the published literature these models incorporate heterogeneity in preferences through the systematic component of utility. An alternative approach is to investigate heterogeneity through the random component of utility, and covariance heterogeneity models are one means of doing this. In this paper we compare these alternative ways of incorporating preference heterogeneity in stated choice models and evaluate how the selection of approach affects welfare estimates in a given empirical application. We find that a Latent Class approach fits our data best but all the models perform well in terms of out-of-sample predictions. Finally, we discuss what criteria a researcher can use to decide which approach is most appropriate for a given data set

Combining Sources of Preference Data: The Case of the Lurking l‘s

This paper brings together several research streams and concepts that have been evolving in random utility choice theory: first, it reviews the literature on stated preference (SP) elicitation methods and introduces the concept of testing data generation process invariance across SP and revealed preference (RP) choice data sources; second, it proposes a general data generation process an useful framework for viewing this data combination process; third, it describes the evolution of discrete choice models within the random utility family, where progressively more behavioural realism is being achieved by relaxing strong assumptions on the role of the variance structure (specifically heteroscedasticity) of the unobserved effects. This latter topic is central to the issue of combining multiple data sources. Particular choice model formulations incorporating heteroscedastic effects are presented, discussed and applied to data. The rich insights possible from modeling heteroscedasticity in choice processes is illustrated in each of the empirical applications, which examine its relevance to issues of data combination and taste heterogeneity

Economic Rationality, Risk Presentation, and Retirement Portfolio Choice.

This research studies the propensity of individuals to violate implications of expected utility maximization in allocating retirement savings within a compulsory de- �ned contribution retirement plan. The paper develops the implications and describes the construction and administration of a discrete choice experiment to almost 1200 members of Australias mandatory retirement savings scheme. The experiment �nds overall rates of violation of roughly 25%, and substantial variation in rates, depend- ing on the presentation of investment risk and the characteristics of the participants. Presentations based on frequency of returns below or above a threshold generate more violations than do presentations based on the probability of returns below or above thresholds. Individuals with low numeracy skills, assessed as part of the ex-periment, are several times more likely to violate implications of the conventional expected utility model than those with high numeracy skills. Older individuals are substantially less likely to violate these restrictions, when risk is presented in terms of event frequency, than are younger individuals. The results pose significant questions for public policy, in particular compulsory de�ned contribution retirement schemes, where the future welfare of participants in these schemes depends on quantitative decision-making skills that a signi�cant number of them do not possess.discrete choice; retirement savings; investment risk; household finance; financial literacy

The Use of Mixtures of Market and Experimental Choice Data in Establishing Guideline Weights for Evaluating Competitive Bids in a Transport Organisation

The government sector is increasingly using competitive bidding for service deliveries such as the provision of bus and rail services as well as the purchasing of professional engineering services such as project planning, design, and project supervision. As part of a program to simplify and introduce consistency in the tender evaluation process, one government transport agency in New Zealand financed a study to investigate the potential of combined revealed and stated preference methods as a way of establishing weights to attach to the criteria used to evaluate offers of engineering services. These techniques have mainly been used in the study of travel choices yet they have a much broader appeal in studying the decision making process of organisations. In this paper we use a data-mixing model to capture the decision expertise of a transport organisation through the revelation of preference weights for each evaluation criterion. Using choice information based on both market-driven and experimentally-derived choice sets, we should be able to increase the robustness of the evaluation weights in comparison to the weights obtained from single data-sourced models. The resulting parameterised tool can be used in subsequent tender evaluations to provide an additional source of advise to supplement or replace that provided by current members of a bid evaluation team

Teacher retention and attrition: Views of early career teachers

The provision and maintenance of quality teachers is a matter of priority for the profession. Moreover, teacher attrition is costly to the profession, to the community and to those teachers who leave feeling disillusioned. There is a need to investigate the experiences of early career teachers to consider how these issues contribute to decisions about staying in or leaving the profession. This paper reports on an aspect of a larger study on teacher retention. It describes and analyses the experiences of teachers participating in the study and highlights implications for teacher retention. The study proposes the notion of ‘resilient stayers’, and how beginning teachers’ resilience might be strengthened and supported. It asks what combination of circumstances in the school and the system, and individual resources of resilience on the part of early career teachers, might maximise the chances of teachers choosing to remain in the profession

Estimating preferences for a dermatology consultation using Best-Worst Scaling: Comparison of various methods of analysis

Background: Additional insights into patient preferences can be gained by supplementing discrete choice experiments with best-worst choice tasks. However, there are no empirical studies illustrating the relative advantages of the various methods of analysis within a random utility framework. Methods: Multinomial and weighted least squares regression models were estimated for a discrete choice experiment. The discrete choice experiment incorporated a best-worst study and was conducted in a UK NHS dermatology context. Waiting time, expertise of doctor, convenience of attending and perceived thoroughness of care were varied across 16 hypothetical appointments. Sample level preferences were estimated for all models and differences between patient subgroups were investigated using ovariateadjusted multinomial logistic regression. Results: A high level of agreement was observed between results from the paired model (which is theoretically consistent with the 'maxdiff' choice model) and the marginal model (which is only an approximation to it). Adjusting for covariates showed that patients who felt particularly affected by their skin condition during the previous week displayed extreme preference for short/no waiting time and were less concerned about other aspects of the appointment. Higher levels of educational attainment were associated with larger differences in utility between the levels of all attributes, although the attributes per use had the same impact upon choices as those with lower levels of attainment. The study also demonstrated the high levels of agreement between summary analyses using weighted least squares and estimates from multinomial models. Conclusion: Robust policy-relevant information on preferences can be obtained from discrete choice experiments incorporating best-worst questions with relatively small sample sizes. The separation of the effects due to attribute impact from the position of levels on the latent utility scale is not possible using traditional discrete choice experiments. This separation is important because health policies to change the levels of attributes in health care may be very different from those aiming to change the attribute impact per se. The good approximation of summary analyses to the multinomial model is a useful finding, because weighted least squares choice totals give better insights into the choice model and promote greater familiarity with the preference data