Impact of Pesticide Residue Concerns on Fresh Produce Consumption in the UK

Pesticide, AIDS, two-stage demand system, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q11,

Health benefits and uncertainty: an experimental analysis of the effects of risk presentation on auction bids for a healthful product

Experimental subjects receive a different presentation of a food product's potential health risk reductions if eaten regularly. They are then asked to bid for the product. Results suggest that the bids vary across the groups that receive differing risk information.

Health Benefits and Uncertainty: An Experimental Analysis of the Effects of Risk Presentation on Auction Bids for a Healthful Product

Experimental subjects receive a different presentation of a food product's potential health risk reductions if people habitually eat it, and then asked to bid for the product. Results suggest that the bids vary across the groups that receive differing risk information.Health risks, experimental economics, auctions, uncertainty, Risk and Uncertainty, D81, I12,

The Effect of Risk Presentation on Product Valuation: An Experimental Analysis

We examine how people might evaluate a product with novel attribute, given various kinds of risk information. Using a product with healthful benefits, we assess subjects' willingness to pay given various kinds of health risk information conveying reduced health risks, life tradeoffs, and ambiguity. Four treatments in separate non-hypothetical experimental auctions are used to elicit willingness to pay values. Results suggest that willingness to pay vary across the groups that receive differing risk information. Specifically, willingness to pay was higher for the group that was given clear risk information and questions related to life tradeoffs than for the group given ambiguous risk information. Willingness to pay was lowest for the group that was given no risk information at all.Risk and Uncertainty,

On the Use of Valuation Mechanisms to Measure Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Novel Products: A Comparison of Hypothetical and Non-Hypothetical Values

Willingness to pay (WTP) estimates for novel products are needed to assess consumers' valuation of these products as well as for product adoption and optimal pricing strategies. Using experiments in a retail setting, we compare hypothetical and non-hypothetical WTP values between a Becker-DeGroot-Marshak (BDM) auction mechanism and conjoint analysis. Our results suggest that the auction WTP values are higher than conjoint analysis WTP values. Moreover, the hypothetical WTP values are higher than the non-hypothetical WTP values in both elicitation mechanisms.Conjoint analysis, willingness-to-pay, auction, hypothetical, non-hypothetical, Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Global analysis of the sugarcane microtranscriptome reveals a unique composition of small RNAs associated with axillary bud outgrowth

Axillary bud outgrowth determines shoot architecture and is under the control of endogenous hormones and a fine-tuned gene-expression network, which probably includes small RNAs (sRNAs). Although it is well known that sRNAs act broadly in plant development, our understanding about their roles in vegetative bud outgrowth remains limited. Moreover, the expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs) and their targets within axillary buds are largely unknown. Here, we employed sRNA next-generation sequencing as well as computational and gene-expression analysis to identify and quantify sRNAs and their targets in vegetative axillary buds of the biofuel crop sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). Computational analysis allowed the identification of 26 conserved miRNA families and two putative novel miRNAs, as well as a number of trans-acting small interfering RNAs. sRNAs associated with transposable elements and protein-encoding genes were similarly represented in both inactive and developing bud libraries. Conversely, sequencing and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR results revealed that specific miRNAs were differentially expressed in developing buds, and some correlated negatively with the expression of their targets at specific stages of axillary bud development. For instance, the expression patterns of miR159 and its target GAMYB suggested that they may play roles in regulating abscisic acid-signalling pathways during sugarcane bud outgrowth. Our work reveals, for the first time, differences in the composition and expression profiles of diverse sRNAs and targets between inactive and developing vegetative buds that, together with the endogenous balance of specific hormones, may be important in regulating axillary bud outgrowth

Fruit and Vegetables Go Back to School

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, I38, Q18,

From Farm to School: An Alternative Market for Texas Citrus

Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Política tributaria, informalidad, y rigideces en los salarios reales.

Los países en desarrollo presentan un sector informal relevante asociado con bajos niveles de productividad. Los efectos de las políticas tributarias sobre los niveles de informalidad dependen de las rigideces del mercado laboral. En el presente artículo se propone un modelo de búsqueda y emparejamiento en un mercado laboral segmentado para entender la interacción entre las políticas tributarias y la aplicación de la ley sobre el sector formal. Los resultados analíticos muestran que, disminuir los impuestos a la nómina genera aumentos en la demanda de empleo formal, mientras que un aumento en el gasto de auditar a las empresas disminuye la oferta de empleo informal. El modelo sugiere un impacto significativo en la reducción de la informalidad al combinar las políticas tributarias. Además, la magnitud del efecto de las políticas depende de las rigideces en los salarios reales. De esta forma, cuando la economía presenta altas rigideces en los salarios reales, las políticas tributarias tienen un mayor efecto sobre la reducción de la informalidad.Developing countries have a vast informal sector generally associated with low productivity levels. The response of informal employment to tax policies might depend on labor market rigidities. This paper proposes a theoretical framework consisting of a search and matching model with segmentation in the labor market to understand how tax policies and enforcement interact to determine the size of the formal sector. The analytical results show that decreasing payroll taxes increases formal employment demand, and enforcement expenditure decreases informal employment offers. The model suggests that a tax policy combination leads to a significant impact on informality reduction. Moreover, the magnitude of the effect of tax policies depends on real wage rigidities, i.e., when the economy faces high real wage rigidities, the tax policies have a higher effect on informality reduction.Política tributaria, informalidad, y rigideces en los salarios reales Enfoque La mayoría de los países en desarrollo presentan altas tasas de informalidad junto con rigideces en el mercado laboral. Para el caso de Colombia, se observa que la informalidad laboral es persistente a lo largo del tiempo. En nuestro artículo, investigamos el efecto de las políticas tributarias sobre el comportamiento de la informalidad, el desempleo y el gasto público, utilizando un modelo de equilibrio general que considera las dinámicas en el proceso de contratación y la rigidez del mercado laboral. Contribución La persistencia y relevancia del sector informal en las economías en desarrollo, se debe en parte, a la rigidez del mercado laboral y a los efectos de las políticas tributarias sobre las decisiones de las empresas y de los trabajadores. Para entender este comportamiento, nuestra investigación tiene en cuenta las decisiones de los trabajadores en un contexto en el que persisten las rigideces en los salarios reales a lo largo del tiempo, junto con las dinámicas de búsqueda y emparejamiento que se dan en el proceso de contratación dentro del sector formal. De esta forma, observamos los efectos de las políticas tributarias, definidas como las variaciones en los impuestos a la nómina y en el gasto de auditar a las empresas, sobre las decisiones optimas de los trabajadores y de las firmas, logrando incorporar los cambios de las políticas sobre las decisiones individuales de los agentes y entender el efecto a nivel agregado en la economía. Resultados Encontramos que la combinación de políticas tributarias como reducir los impuestos a la nómina e incrementar el gasto de auditar a las empresas, contribuye significativamente a reducir la informalidad laboral, aumentando la formalidad, mientras se disminuye el desempleo. Además, mostramos que es posible aplicar las políticas mencionadas previamente, mientras se cumple con un objetivo en el balance fiscal por parte del gobierno. De igual forma, los resultados sugieren que las rigideces en los salarios reales son relevantes para entender la magnitud del efecto de las políticas tributarias sobre la reducción de la informalidad. En este sentido, si la economía presenta mayores rigideces en los salarios reales, las políticas tributarias tienen un mayor efecto en la reducción del empleo informal. Finalmente, los resultados también señalan la posibilidad de reducir el sector informal al hacer el mercado laboral más flexible. Frase destacada: “La combinación de políticas tributarias como reducir los impuestos a la nómina e incrementar el gasto de auditar a las empresas, contribuye significativamente a reducir la informalidad laboral, aumentando la formalidad, mientras se disminuye el desempleo”