Values elicited from open-ended real experiments

The idea that preferences are only revealed by real incentives is deeply embedded in economists' worldview. Consequently, evidence from hypothetical experiments has not readily permeated economic thinking. One method for determining whether hypothetical experiments provide useful information about preferences is to compare them to similar real-goods experiments. This study looks at responses elicited by three real experiments. We examine the proportion of responses that meet a series of criteria that range from a broad appeal of plausibility to a narrow restriction based on quasi-concavity of preferences. We argue that these proportions are unreasonably low. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.