FACTORS INFLUENCING CHANGES IN POTATO AND POTATO SUBSTITUTE DEMAND

Despite the rapid rise in complex carbohydrate consumption over the last twenty-five years, fresh potato consumption has fallen by over 50%. Fresh potato growers and retailers alike need to know whether these changes reflect consumer responses to changing relative prices or incomes, or whether they are due to changes in consumer tastes. This paper uses a linear approximation almost ideal demand system (LA/AIDS) to investigate the effect of relative prices, expenditures, and a set of socioeconomic variables on complex carbohydrate demand. Estimation results show that the socioeconomic variables explain some of the changes in demand, but a significant amount remains as evidence of a change in consumer tastes.Demand and Price Analysis,

Consumer Preferences for Imported Kona Coffee in South India: A Latent Class Analysis

Considering India as a potential export market for 100% Kona coffee, this study explores consumer preferences for imported, specialty, high-end Kona coffee in South India. Conjoint choice experiment with latent class analysis is used and results indicate that India offers an export market potential for Kona coffee, provided it caters to consumer preferences. Results show a significant preference for strong taste. The relative importance of price is lower than taste but majority are also adverse to higher prices. However,15% of the sample population does not care about price but does care about taste, indicating the possibility of a high-end niche market segment. Based on the results, marketing strategies and policy recommendations have been suggested.India, US Coffee Export, Kona Coffee, Conjoint Choice Experiment, Latent Class Analysis, Agribusiness, Q13,

Toward a better understanding of market potentials for vegan food. A choice experiment for the analysis of breadsticks preferences

4Recently, vegan food has received increased attention from Italian consumers. Despite this fact, it has rarely been the subject of analysis. Our study focuses on consumer preferences for breadsticks in North-Eastern Italy. We applied a choice experiment where a hypothetical market was designed to analyze five characteristics of breadsticks (country of origin, vegan product certification, production method, type of flour, and price). We collected data by interviewing 487 consumers and analyzed them by means of the random parameter logit model. Results suggest that 8% of respondents are willing to pay a premium price for vegan breadsticks and that there is the opportunity to develop local chains for vegan niche markets.openopenMarangon, F.; Tempesta, T.; Troiano, S; Vecchiato, D.Marangon, Francesco; Tempesta, T.; Troiano, Stefania; Vecchiato, D

The Informal Sector and Tax on Employment: A Dynamic General Equilibrium Investigation

This paper elaborates on the evolution of the informal sector vis-à-vis the evolution of agricultural and formal sectors in a stylized developing country economy in process of growth. The analytical contribution of this essay extends the Ramsey theory of growth into a framework that includes an informal sector, and household preferences that display Engel effects in agricultural and informally produced goods. Besides showing that the informal sector’s importance diminishes over time as the economy grows, the results from the model demonstrate that a country can successfully reduce its informal employment by reducing tax on employment in the formal sector.Informal Sector, Economic Growth, Employment tax, Middle East, Turkey

Nested logic programs with ordered disjunction

In this paper we define a class of nested logic programs, nested logic programs with ordered disjunction (LPODs+), which allows to specify qualitative preferences by means of nested preference expressions. For doing this we extend the syntax of logic programs with ordered disjunction (LPODs) to capture more general expressions. We define the LPODs+ semantics in a simple way and we extend most of the results of logic programs with ordered disjunction showing how our approach effectively is a proper generalisation of LPODs.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Housework and fiscal expansions

We build an otherwise-standard business cycle model with housework, calibrated consistently with data on time use, in order to discipline consumption-hours complementarity and relate its strength to the size of fiscal multipliers. We show that if substitutability between home and market goods is calibrated on the empirically relevant range, consumption-hours complementarity is large and the model generates fiscal multipliers that agree with the evidence. Hence, our analysis supports the relevance of consumption-hours complementarity for fiscal multipliers. However, we also find that explicitly modeling the home sector is more appealing than restricting to the consumption-leisure margin and/or to the preferences proposed by Greenwood, Hercowitz and Huffman (1988). A housework model can imply substantial complementarity, without low wealth effects contradicting the microeconomic evidence

Unleashing the Power of Edge-Cloud Generative AI in Mobile Networks: A Survey of AIGC Services

Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content (AIGC) is an automated method for generating, manipulating, and modifying valuable and diverse data using AI algorithms creatively. This survey paper focuses on the deployment of AIGC applications, e.g., ChatGPT and Dall-E, at mobile edge networks, namely mobile AIGC networks, that provide personalized and customized AIGC services in real time while maintaining user privacy. We begin by introducing the background and fundamentals of generative models and the lifecycle of AIGC services at mobile AIGC networks, which includes data collection, training, finetuning, inference, and product management. We then discuss the collaborative cloud-edge-mobile infrastructure and technologies required to support AIGC services and enable users to access AIGC at mobile edge networks. Furthermore, we explore AIGCdriven creative applications and use cases for mobile AIGC networks. Additionally, we discuss the implementation, security, and privacy challenges of deploying mobile AIGC networks. Finally, we highlight some future research directions and open issues for the full realization of mobile AIGC networks

Cognitive Capabilities for the CAAI in Cyber-Physical Production Systems

This paper presents the cognitive module of the cognitive architecture for artificial intelligence (CAAI) in cyber-physical production systems (CPPS). The goal of this architecture is to reduce the implementation effort of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in CPPS. Declarative user goals and the provided algorithm-knowledge base allow the dynamic pipeline orchestration and configuration. A big data platform (BDP) instantiates the pipelines and monitors the CPPS performance for further evaluation through the cognitive module. Thus, the cognitive module is able to select feasible and robust configurations for process pipelines in varying use cases. Furthermore, it automatically adapts the models and algorithms based on model quality and resource consumption. The cognitive module also instantiates additional pipelines to test algorithms from different classes. CAAI relies on well-defined interfaces to enable the integration of additional modules and reduce implementation effort. Finally, an implementation based on Docker, Kubernetes, and Kafka for the virtualization and orchestration of the individual modules and as messaging-technology for module communication is used to evaluate a real-world use case

Consumption values, consumer attitude, brand preference and intention to purchase hybrid car among Malaysian consumers

This study focuses on the determinants of hybrid car purchase intention in the Malaysian automotive industry. This study conceptualizes consumption values as a multi-dimensional construct which consists of five dimensions of values, i.e. functional value, symbolic value, emotional value, novelty value, and conditional value. This study examines the relationships between consumption values, consumers’ attitudes toward the hybrid car, brand preference, and intention to purchase the hybrid car. This study also examines the role of attitudes toward the hybrid car as a mediator and brand preference as a moderator of intention to purchase the hybrid car. Including both the mediating and the moderating factors in this study allows a more precise description of the relationships between all the variables mentioned and the outcome of the study. This study involves 306 respondents from the Klang Valley. Out of the 17 hypotheses tested, nine are supported. The analyses reveal positive relationships between functional value, emotional value, and consumers’ attitudes toward the hybrid car and the intention to purchase it. Besides, a significantly positive relationship is found among functional value, emotional value and conditional value, and the consumers’ attitudes toward the hybrid car. Consumers’ attitudes toward the hybrid car mediate the relationship between functional value, emotional value and conditional value and the intention to purchase the hybrid car. On the other hand, brand preference does not moderate the relationship between consumers’ attitudes toward the hybrid car and the intention to purchase it. The study also highlights the implications and limitations of the study as well as the suggestions for future research