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Using virtual environments to improve the realism of choice experiments: a case study about coastal erosion management

Matthews, Y.; Scarpa, R.; Marsh, D.

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Authors

Y. Matthews

D. Marsh



Abstract

Choice experiment surveys are commonly used to assess the general public's willingness to pay for different levels of environmental quality. However, respondents need to understand what they are valuing or they will make potentially wrong assumptions based on different experiences and frames of reference. Three-dimensional computer generated models or Virtual Environments (VE) have so far seen little use in economics research, probably due to the complexity and cost of developing and delivering them to study participants. The few studies that have used them find that VE are superior to static image presentations in helping people evaluate complex data. For this study we developed virtual environments for a choice experiment about coastal erosion management using free, easy-to-use software and Google Earth© satellite imagery and presented these to respondents as video tours. Our results indicate that the VE treatment reduced choice error, reduced left-right bias and improved respondent engagement and retention when compared with static images. There were also differences in WTP between the two groups.

Citation

Matthews, Y., Scarpa, R., & Marsh, D. (2017). Using virtual environments to improve the realism of choice experiments: a case study about coastal erosion management. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 81, 193-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2016.08.001

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 7, 2016
Online Publication Date Aug 13, 2016
Publication Date 2017-01
Deposit Date Aug 10, 2016
Publicly Available Date Feb 13, 2018
Journal Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
Print ISSN 0095-0696
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 81
Pages 193-208
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2016.08.001
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1399374

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