Welfare Effects of Food Miles Labels

We assessed the consumer welfare effects of two generic food miles labels: carbon dioxide (CO2) emission label and number of miles label. Using data from a choice experiment, our results generally suggest that a mandatory labeling policy for either type of label would have a positive welfare effect on both informed and uninformed consumers. However, a label informing consumers about the number of miles the food product has travelled provides greater positive welfare effects than a label informing consumers about the amount of CO2 emission.welfare effect, generic food miles labelling programs, choice experiment, Italy., Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Marketing,

Intertemporal stability of survey-based measures of risk and time preferences over a three-year course

Given the importance of risk and time preferences for economics and other disciplines, we seek to examine the intertemporal stability of six related survey-based measures. Using a panel of subjects over a three-year course, between 2013 and 2015, we find aggregate stability of all six measures over the time span of our data. With few exceptions, the measures also show remarkably high individual stability over the examined period. Our results contribute to the wider adoption of survey-based measures, especially considering the ease with which such measures can be incorporated in large-scale surveys

Intertemporal stability of survey-based measures of risk and time preferences over a three-year course

Given the importance of risk and time preferences for economics and other disciplines, we seek to examine the intertemporal stability of six related survey-based measures. Using a panel of subjects over a three-year course, between 2013 and 2015, we find aggregate stability of all six measures over the time span of our data. With few exceptions, the measures also show remarkably high individual stability over the examined period. Our results contribute to the wider adoption of survey-based measures, especially considering the ease with which such measures can be incorporated in large-scale surveys

Intertemporal stability of survey-based measures of risk and time preferences

Given the importance of risk and time preferences for economics and other disciplines, we seek to examine the intertemporal stability of six related survey-based measures. Using a panel of subjects over three waves, between 2013 and 2015, we find remarkably high aggregate stability over the examined period in all six measures while we observe significant patterns of instability at the individual level. Our results contribute to the discussion on the wider adoption of survey-based measures, especially considering the ease with which such measures can be incorporated in large-scale surveys

Loss Aversion, Expectations and Anchoring in the BDM Mechanism

We present the results of an economic laboratory experiment that tests behavioral biases that have been associated with the BDM mechanism. By manipulating the highest random competing bid, the maximum possible loss, the distribution of prices and the elicitation format, we attempt to disentangle the effects of reference-dependence, expectations as well as price and loss anchoring on subjects' bids. The results show that bids are affected by expectations and anchoring on the highest price but not by anchoring on the maximum possible loss. In addition, results are supportive of the no-loss-in-buying hypothesis of Novemsky and Kahneman (2005)

Loss Aversion, Expectations and Anchoring in the BDM Mechanism

We present the results of an economic laboratory experiment that tests behavioral biases that have been associated with the BDM mechanism. By manipulating the highest random competing bid, the maximum possible loss, the distribution of prices and the elicitation format, we attempt to disentangle the effects of reference-dependence, expectations as well as price and loss anchoring on subjects' bids. The results show that bids are affected by expectations and anchoring on the highest price but not by anchoring on the maximum possible loss. In addition, results are supportive of the no-loss-in-buying hypothesis of Novemsky and Kahneman (2005)

Does the Food Stamp Program Really Increase Obesity? The Importance of Accounting for Misclassification Errors

Over the last few decades, the prevalence of obesity among US citizens has grown rapidly, especially among low-income individuals. This has led to questions about the effectiveness of nutritional assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamps Program (FSP). Results from previous studies generally suggest that FSP participation increases obesity. This finding is however based on analyses that assumed that participants do not misclassify their program participation. Significant misclassification errors have been reported in the literature. Using propensity score matching estimation and a new method to conduct extensive sensitivity analysis, we find that this finding is quite sensitive to misclassification errors above 10% and to functional form assumptions

Does the Food Stamp Program Really Increase Obesity? The Importance of Accounting for Misclassification Errors

Over the last few decades, the prevalence of obesity among US citizens has grown rapidly, especially among low-income individuals. This has led to questions about the effectiveness of nutritional assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamps Program (FSP). Results from previous studies generally suggest that FSP participation increases obesity. This finding is however based on the assumption that participants do not misclassify their program participation despite significant misclassification errors reported in the literature. Using propensity score matching and a new method to conduct extensive sensitivity analysis, we conclude that this finding is sensitive to misclassification errors above 10% and to the conditional independence assumption

Fair farming: Preferences for fair labor certification using four elicitation methods

High profile cases of exploitative labor practices have increased concerns over agricultural working conditions. However, it is unclear whether and to what extent the public is willing to trade-off fair working conditions for higher prices and food imports. We implement a large-scale survey to uncover Greek consumer preferences for a food labeling system that certifies fair working conditions for the workers employed at all production stages of agricultural production. Empirical findings from several disciplines suggest that results from contingent valuation surveys can be susceptible to hypothetical bias, social desirability bias, and lack of consequentiality. To test these issues, we use the 'cheap talk' method (Kling et al., 2012), Lusk and Norwood's (2009) Inferred Valuation (IV) method and the consequentiality scripts employed in Vossler and Evans (2009) and Vossler and Watson (2013). We also test predictions of reference dependent theory by testing whether framing the valuation question as an 'Equivalent Loss' (EL) differs from classical 'Willingness-to-pay elicitation' (WTP). We collected responses from more than 3,800 consumers in the cities of Athens and Ioannina in Greece. Our results show that neither the cheap talk nor the consequentiality script had any effect on elicited valuations. In contrast, the IV method appears to mitigate social desirability bias. We also find that values elicited under WTP are larger than values elicited under EL, which rejects neoclassical preferences. When social desirability is taken out of our estimates, we find that consumers are willing to pay an average premium of 72 cents/Kg for strawberries with fair labor certification, which is equivalent to 49% of current market prices