Let's say, in a very specific situation in the wake of a climate change in which people would like renewable energy as compared to non-renewable energy, say fossil fuel energy, we have 2 alternatives which reduce carbon emissions (attribute 1) with improvements in variations in annual rainfall patterns and urban floodings (attribute 2). Now, we have satus-quo as the 3rd (or 1st opt-out) and non-of-these as the 4th (or 2nd opt-out) alternatives !
Also, we can include a monetary attribute, e.g. annual tax cut or an increase in water bill depending upon their acceptability in the focus groups, as the 3rd attribute in order to calculate WTP and CV welfare measures.
Please try Hellwig's method as explained in our newest paper:Article Renewable Energy Producers’ Strategies in the Visegrád Group Countries
Based on your question details I think this method can be a solution.
I did not quite understand the difference between status quo and none of these. Anyway, we typically use what we call Environmental Impact Statements or Environmental Analysis depending on the project or action size and likelihood of significant envoronmental effects. There is much literature on how to conduct an EIS or EA. Other countries use different terms. Typically our No Action is the Status Quo. In the case of energy, would no action mean status quo or would it mean no energy - go back in time to no energy grid, etc. Anyway, it is suitable to analyze all reasonable or feasible alternatives that make sense to the situation. Various renewable sources might include wind, solar, water, geothermic, biomass, etc. Not all situations lend themselves to the same type of activity or energy generation efficiencies or costs. As long as the Current and No Action have meaning, proceed. My country sometimes offers tax or other credits for Green Energy conversion for individuals or industries, but not all conversions are going to make sense, so having some options may be good.
After thoroughly reviewing literature, one can inevitably see the difference between Status-quo (No action) and None-of-these (Neither) alternatives. However, to some extent, your answer makes a sense.
According to my understanding, no matters what you may call it whether status-quo or none-of-these, attributes (or some attributes) have initial status-quo levels. In this situation, a researcher can calculate both WTP and CV values.
But, None-of-these, in my case, means (i) stay at home (in case of recreational visitors), (ii) buy nothing (in case of no shopping at all), (iii) Neither project (in case there's no present project but we ask only about future projects), etc. This means that None-of-these opt-out alternative has no levels (totally empty). In such a situation, a researcher can only calculate WTP values, not CVs.
I hope this is very clear now.
Regards
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