Comparing treatments to reduce hypothetical bias in choice experiments regarding organic food

Abstract

Abstract Hypothetical bias is one of the strongest criticisms brought to stated preference methods. We evaluate and compare the use of Cheap Talk and Honesty Priming as methods to mitigate such bias. Our study analyses the demand for organic food products in the UK, and the results reveal a core of consumers with positive willingness to pay (WTP) for organic. However, when correcting for hypothetical bias, consumers appear to be willing to pay even more for other attributes. Most importantly, the results show that implementing mechanisms to correct for hypothetical bias are efficient to reduce WTP, with Cheap Talk having a higher overall significance than Honesty Priming.