Unravelling theory in choice analysis: do consumers fill in the blanks?
通过英国1987名受访者的离散选择实验，检验了揭示理论中消费者将无质量信息产品视为最低质量的假设，发现该假设不成立，并指出属性呈现方式会影响福利估计的准确性。
Abstract Unravelling theory postulates that consumers assume products without quality information are of the lowest quality. In a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with 1987 respondents from the UK, we find evidence against this assumption. Affirmative disclosure, which indicates only quality above the lowest level, lowers marginal utilities compared to complete disclosure. The development in food choice DCE studies, from textual and complete towards visual and affirmative increases mean willingness to pay and error variance. This suggests that analysts should carefully consider how attributes are presented when designing DCEs to avoid biased welfare estimates, especially when aiming for accurate market predictions or policy advice.