SNACK PEANUTS PURCHASE PATTERN: EFFECTS OF NUTRITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS AND HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS

This study examines the effect of a meal planner's nutritional awareness, exercise habits, and household socioeconomic characteristics on market participation and frequency of purchase of snack peanuts. Data are from a household survey of 2880 U.S. households collected by Gallup in 1997. Statistical tests showed that a double-hurdle or Cragg model best represented consumers' participation and purchase level decisions in the snack peanut market. The results indicated that meal planner's nutritional considerations while making food purchase decisions had little effect on the participation level decisions, but did affect purchase frequency of snack peanuts. Those household meal planners who were overly concerned about undesirable nutritional factors tended to decrease their purchase of snack peanuts. Promotion of snack peanuts on the basis of nutritional benefits through health professional and media is a useful tool to increase purchase frequency.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

DETERMINANTS OF PARTICIPATION AND CONSUMPTION: THE CASE OF CRAWFISH IN SOUTH LOUISIANA

This study investigates the determinants of crawfish consumption in South Louisiana using a generalized limited dependent variable model that accounts for both participation and consumption decisions. Income, Catholic, white, and household size increase the likelihood of crawfish consumption but not the conditional level of consumption. Education and employment status are among the other household characteristics that determine the conditional level of consumption.Box-Cox transformation, Crawfish consumption, Double-hurdle model, South Louisiana, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

AT-HOME SEAFOOD CONSUMPTION IN KENTUCKY: A DOUBLE-HURDLE MODEL APPROACH

This study investigates demographic and socioeconomic factors contributing to at-home consumption of seafood in Kentucky through a 2010 survey. The Tobit and Cragg’s double-hurdle model are analyzed and tested. Numbers of people in the household, household income, race and employment status are significant determinants of at-home seafood consumption in Kentucky.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Seafood consumption, At-home, Kentucky, Double-Hurdle Model,

Tax-Deferred Retirement Savings of Farm Households: An Empirical Investigation

This study examines factors affecting tax-deferred retirement savings among farm households. A double-hurdle model is estimated using 2003 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) farm-level national data. Results indicate that demographic factors, total household income, off-farm work, and risk preference play important roles in retirement savings plan participation. Retirement savings increase with household size, intensity of off-farm work by farm operator and spouse, and size of farming operation. We find that the amount of retirement savings decreases with operator’s age and increases with spouse’s age, and that cash grain and dairy farmers have lower retirement savings.double-hurdle estimation, farm households, probit, retirement savings, risk preference, total household income, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics,

AN ANALYSIS OF TAX-DEFERRED RETIREMENT SAVINGS OF FARM HOUSEHOLDS

The retiring farmer generally tries to balance the desire to keep the farm intact as a going concern with the need for a secure assets portfolio to finance retirement. This problem becomes more complex in situations where younger family members choose not to be active in the farm business. Tax-deferred savings are potentially an important component of a retirement plan and could represent a very substantial increase in tax-free assets for many individuals. This study examines the tax deferred retirement savings of farm households. The model is estimated using Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) 1999 farm-level national data and the Double-Hurdle estimation method. Results indicate that farm household's source of income, age of the farm operator, marginal tax rate, regional location, and participation in government programs are factors that significantly affect investment in tax-deferred savings.Farm Management,

Determinants of Participation versus Consumption in the Nordic Swan Eco-labeled Market

This paper uses data on purchases of Nordic Swan Eco-labeled toilet paper and paper towels by individual Danish households to analyze the determinants of demand for eco-labeled goods and the decision process underlying it. Among several models that are estimated, a double-hurdle model that distinguishes between factors influencing the discrete decision to participate by purchasing an eco-labeled good and the continuous decision about the quantity of the eco-labeled good to be purchased is found to fit the data best. We find that prices as well as consumer tastes and preferences, proxied by their socio-demographic characteristics, have a much stronger impact on the participation decision than on quantity consumed for both Swan-labeled toilet paper and paper towels. The quantity consumed of Swan-labeled goods, on the other hand, is strongly affected by factors such as availability of Swan goods in shops, discount sales on Swan goods, and household size.Environmental Economics and Policy,

A Double-Hurdle Approach to Modelling Tobacco Consumption in Italy

This paper analyses the determinants of tobacco expenditures for a sample of Italian households. A Box- Cox double-hurdle model adjusted for heteroscedasticity is estimated to account for separate individual decisions concerning smoking participation and tobacco consumption and to correct for non-normality in the bivariate distribution of the error terms. Nested univariate and bivariate models are found to be excessively restrictive, supporting the adequacy of a generalized specification. Estimation results show that consumption decisions are significantly affected by income and demographic characteristics. In particular, income positively impacts tobacco expenditure, while participation probability substantially declines as age increases. The existence of significant gender differences in both smoking participation and tobacco consumption patterns is found, while high education and white collar occupation reduce the likelihood to smoke and tobacco expenditure levels. Single adult households have a lower probability of smoking initiation even if, conditional on smoking, they consume more. Finally, complementarity between tobacco and alcohol beverages suggests the necessity of joint public health strategies.tobacco consumption, double-hurdle models, limited dependent variables, Box-Cox transformation

Soil Fertility Management Choice in the Maize-Based Smallholder Farming System in Malawi

The paper analyses the factors that affect smallholder farmers choice of soil fertility management options in Malawi using a two-stage maximum likelihood estimation procedure. Using results from the Double-Hurdle model, the paper estimates the probabilities and intensities of fertilizer application conditional on choice of inorganic fertilizer. The findings indicate that relative wealthy indicators, human capital, credit and market access, food security index and land pressure are the main factors that greatly influence farmers choice and intensity of input investment. Although there is a high and positive correlation between probability of adoption and intensity of application, factors that influence adoption are not necessarily the same as those that influence the intensity of application, conditional on adoption. The paper concludes with policy and research implications aimed at informing the debate on enhancing sustainable soil fertility management among smallholder farmers in Malawi.soil fertility management, smallholder farmers, Double-Hurdle model, Malawi, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

MODELING FRESH ORGANIC PRODUCE CONSUMPTION: A GENERALIZED DOUBLE-HURDLE MODEL APPROACH

Using actual retail data, this study is intended to profile consumers' social economic characteristics related to the growth of the fresh organic produce market with a generalized double-hurdle model. The nested test shows that the above model performs significantly better than Cragg's independent double-hurdle model and Tobit model.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

HOUSEHOLD DEMAND FOR FINFISH: A GENERALIZED DOUBLE-HURDLE MODEL

This study estimates household demand for finfish in the United States using a limited dependent variable model that accounts for both participation and consumption decisions and also accommodates nonnormal heteroskedastic errors. Results suggest that own-price elasticity is near unitary and income elasticity is small. Price of finfish, shopping frequency, Northeast, Black and other non-Whites, and the life-cycle variable “"young, single, no children”" are they key factors that affect significantly both the probability of participation and the level of finfish consumption. Furthermore, a variable may exert opposite effects on the probability and level of consumption.Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,