Hypothetical versus real preferences: results from an opportunistic field experiment

Over recent years there has been renewed interest in cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in health care but the ‘hypothetical bias’ concern (i.e. the belief that WTP values overstate real preferences) is a remaining anxiety. This paper reports new empirical data comparing hypothetical and real preferences in a health care context, using the clinical setting of patient self-management (PSM) of anticoagulation (warfarin) therapy. (Source: Health Economics, Dec. 2010)