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on Discrete Choice Models |
| By: | Yang, Ruoye; Raper, Kellie Curry; Lusk, Jayson L. |
| Abstract: | Consumers see retail beef products labeled as produced with no added hormones (NAH), but also see similar labels on pork and chicken products on market shelves despite the fact that added hormones are not used in production. This may mislead consumers to think hormones are used in meat production as a whole. This research examines the impact of hormone use perception on consumer preference for meat products. Specifically, we assess consumer perception of hormone use in different livestock species as compared to actual use in production. We then assess whether hormone use perception affects consumer choice for unlabeled meat products. Finally, we identify whether consumer perception of hormone use affects willingness to pay (WTP) premiums for meat products labeled as produced with NAH. Choice experiment data was collected using Oklahoma State University monthly Food Demand Survey. Results indicate that consumers underestimate the rate of hormone use in cattle production, but overestimate the rate of hormone use in pork and chicken production. Results from a conditional logit model suggest that consumer perception of hormone use can affect food preferences for unlabeled meat products. Using a Tobit model, we also found WTP premiums for the NAH label are affected by consumer perception of hormone use and by demographic characteristics. |
| Keywords: | meat demand, hormone use, choice experiment, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Q13, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252772&r=dcm |
| By: | Penn, Jerrod; Hu, Wuyang |
| Abstract: | In recent years, the global rate of bed bug infestations has increased dramatically as well as the corresponding costs. One subtle cost that is important to the hospitality industry is travelers’ anxiety and risk of getting bed bugs. In this analysis, we use a Choice Experiment to investigate travelers’ WTP for proactive protection against bed bugs when booking a hotel. For travelers’ reaction to proactive protection against bed bugs, nearly 60% of travelers have a favorable opinion, while less than 10% rejected such efforts. Travelers have positive and significant Willingness to Pay for all four protective services considered, with the greatest value placed on the use of mattress encasements and the least value associated with weekly inspections from hotel staff. While hotels may be hesitant to openly advertise protective services, our results demonstrate that many travelers may be receptive. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252819&r=dcm |
| By: | Marti, Joachim (Imperial College London); Buckell, John (Yale University); Maclean, J. Catherine (Temple University); Sindelar, Jody L. (Yale University) |
| Abstract: | A growing share of the United States population uses e-cigarettes. In response, policymakers are considering regulating e-cigarettes, or have already done so, due to concerns regarding e-cigarettes' public health impact. However, there is currently little population-based evidence to inform these regulatory choices. More information is needed on how policy-relevant factors will likely drive smokers' decision to use e-cigarettes. To provide this information we conduct an online survey and discrete choice experiment to investigate how adult tobacco cigarette smokers' demand for cigarette type varies by four policy-relevant attributes: 1) whether e-cigarettes are considered healthier than tobacco cigarettes, 2) the effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a cessation device, 3) bans on use in public places such as bars and restaurants, and 4) price. Overall, we find that the demand for e-cigarettes is motivated more by smokers' health concerns than by the desire to avoid smoking bans or higher prices. However, results from latent class models reveal three distinct groups of smokers, those who prefer: tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and using both products. Each group responds differently to the cigarette attributes suggesting that policies will have different impacts across the groups. |
| Keywords: | e-cigarettes, smoking, discrete choice experiments, preference heterogeneity, regulation |
| JEL: | C35 I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10490&r=dcm |
| By: | Ratliff, English; Vassalos, Michael; Hu, Wuyang |
| Abstract: | Seafood consumption in U.S. is expected to grow over the next years for various reasons. First,as supply increases, due mostly to imports and aquaculture, seafood becomes a more affordable diet alternative. Furthermore because of its’ purported health benefits increasingly recognized by consumers, seafood demand is expected to increase. Concurrently, consumers increasingly care about a range of seafood characteristics beyond tangible attributes such as packaging (i.e. fresh or frozen) and price. Sustainability and the environmental impacts of aquaculture are important also. Understanding which attributes consumers prefer can provide valuable insights for the U.S. seafood industry. However, research on this topic is limited. This study’s dataset is obtained from an online survey administered to Kentucky and South Carolina consumers. An ordered probit model is utilized to analyze consumer importance ratings of various seafood attributes. The present study utilizes an ordered probit formulation to examine the effect of various consumer characteristics on their seafood preferences. The results indicate that, demographic characteristics and supporting local foods have a significant effect on consumer preferences for fresh and wild-caught seafood products. However, they had a smaller effect on increasing the probability that environmental statements influence purchasing decisions. |
| Keywords: | Seafood Consumption, Ordered Probit, South Carolina, Kentucky, Consumer/Household Economics, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252848&r=dcm |
| By: | McLeod, Elizabeth; Jensen, Kimberly; Griffith, Andrew; Lewis, Karen |
| Abstract: | Growing interest in producing locally produced beef to capture more value-added has been expressed by the Tennessee beef industry. This study measures Tennessee cattle producer willingness to supply beef to a Tennessee branded beef (TBB) program. Data from a 2016 survey of Tennessee beef cattle producers were used to estimate a probit for interest in TBB participation and a Tobit for cattle live weight that interested producers would supply. Over 70 percent were interested in participating, with age, income, production practices used, and risk attitudes influencing interest. Liveweight supply was influenced by producer age, animal units, production practices, and perceived barriers. |
| Keywords: | Branded Beef, Producer Willingness to Supply, Probit, Tobit, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252649&r=dcm |
| By: | Jana Friedrichsen; Dirk Engelmann |
| Abstract: | This paper experimentally investigates how concerns for social approval relate to intrinsic motivations to purchase ethically. Participants state their willingness-to-pay for both a fair trade and a conventional chocolate bar in private or publicly. A standard model of social image predicts that all increase their fair trade premium when facing an audience. We find that the premium is higher in public than in private only for participants who preferred a conventional over a fair trade chocolatebar in a pre-lab choice. This is captured by a generalized model where intrinsic preferences and the concern for social approval are negatively correlated. |
| Keywords: | Image concerns, ethical consumption, fair trade, social approval, crowding out, experiments |
| JEL: | D03 C91 D12 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1634&r=dcm |
| By: | Herrera, Daniel; Shaywitz, Bennett; Holahan, John; Marchione, Karen; Michaels, Reissa; Shaywitz, Sally; Hammitt, James |
| Abstract: | While much is known about dyslexia in school-age children and adolescents, less is known about its effects on quality of life in adults. Using data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study we provide the first estimates of the monetary value of improving reading, speaking, and cognitive skills to dyslexic and non-dyslexic adults. Using a stated-preference survey, we find that dyslexic and non-dyslexic individuals value improvements in their skills in reading speed, reading aloud, pronunciation, memory, and information retrieval at about the same rate. Because dyslexics have lower self-reported levels on these skills, their total willingness to pay to achieve a high level of skill is substantially greater than for non-dyslexics. However, dyslexic individuals’ willingness to pay (averaging $3000 for an improvement in all skills simultaneously) is small compared with the difference in earnings between dyslexic and non-dyslexic adults. We estimate that dyslexic individuals earn 15 percent less per year (about $8000) than non-dyslexic individuals. Although improvements in reading, speaking and cognitive skills in adulthood are unlikely to eliminate the earnings difference that reflects differences in educational attainment and other factors, stated-preference estimates of the value of cognitive skills may substantially underestimate the value derived from effects on lifetime earnings and health. |
| Keywords: | Dyslexia, contingent valuation, willingness to pay, reading |
| JEL: | D03 D12 L13 L22 L81 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:29702&r=dcm |
| By: | Weng, Weizhe; Morrison, Mark; Boyle, Kevin; Boxall, Peter |
| Keywords: | Non-market valuation, Stated preferences, Choice Experiments, Incentive Compatibility, Status-quo option, Task complexity, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q51, Q57, Q48, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea17:252836&r=dcm |