Preference estimation from point allocation experiments

Journal of Choice Modelling, vol. 48, pp. 100430

Abstract

Point allocation experiments are widely used in the social sciences. In these experiments, survey respondents distribute a fixed total number of points across a fixed number of alternatives. This paper reviews the different perspectives in the literature about what respondents do when they distribute points across options. We find three main alternative interpretations in the literature, each having different implications for empirical work. We connect these interpretations to models of utility maximization that account for point and budget constraints and investigate the role of budget constraints in more detail. We show how these constraints impact the regression specifications for point allocation experiments that are commonly used in the literature. We also show how a formulation of a taste for variety as entropy that had been previously used to analyse market shares can fruitfully be applied to choice behaviour in point allocation experiments.

Authors 2

1. Marion Collewet corresponding Aachen Department of Economics, Leiden Law School

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Economics, Leiden Law School, Universiteit Leiden, PO Box 9520, 2300RA, Leiden, the Netherlands

2. Paul R. Koster

   Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · Tinbergen Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Spatial Economics of the School of Economics and Business, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

   Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam, Gustav Mahlerplein 117, 1082MS, Amsterdam, the Netherlands