Confirming the Price Effects of Private Labels Development

We study the price response of national brands to the development of private labels. We use monthly data from a consumer survey reporting their purchases for 218 food products. We show that when private labels have a significant effect on national brands prices (144 cases over 218), that is positive (89%). We also show that the increase in the prices of national brand products is explained by a strategy of product differentiation. Finally, price reaction of national brands differs with the type of private labels they are facing. This paper confirms, on a larger number of products, previous empirical results.private labels, pricing, empirical models, food products, L81, Q13, D40, Demand and Price Analysis,

Quality Labels and Firm Survival in the Food Industry

Both industry and firm characteristics influence the survival of a firm in an industry over time. Aging, size, structure are factors often discussed in the literature, but public intervention effects - through public quality labeling for example - may also have an effect that is examined here. We use data on French firms producing cheese under public quality label or not over the period 1990-2006. We perform a nonparametric estimation using Kaplan-Meier estimators as well as proportional hazard rate models to assess the impact of such factors on firms survival. Our results confirm existing finding on firm survival determinants. We also shed light on the effect of public intervention into that industry. More precisely, our focus on public quality labeling in the French cheese industry shows that quality label reduces the risk of exiting for firms and more particularly for small firms. In other words, public intervention in this industry is well designed to increase the competitiveness of small firms enabling the coexistence on the market of both small and large firms.Agribusiness,

Nonparametric vs parametric binary choice models: An empirical investigation

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

The impact of perceptions in averting-decision models: An application of the special regressor method to drinking water choices

Individuals are commonly surveyed about their perception or assessment of risk and these variables are often used to explain individuals’ actions to protect themselves against these risks. Perceptions appear as endogenous variables in traditional theoretical averting-decision models but, quite surprisingly, endogeneity of perceived risk is not always controlled for in empirical studies. In this article, we present different models that can be useful to the practitioner when estimating binary averting-decision models featuring an endogenous discrete variable (such as risk perception). In particular we compare the traditional bivariate probit model with the special regressor model, which is less well known and relies on a different set of assumptions. In the empirical illustration using household data from Australia, Canada, and France, we study how the perceived health impacts of tap water affect a household’s decision to drink water from the tap. Individuals’ perceptions are found to be endogenous and significant for all models, but the estimated marginal effect is sensitive to the model and underlying assumptions. The special regressor appears to be a valuable alternative to the more common bivariate probit model

Endogenous Variables in Binary Choice Models

The main purpose of this article is to offer practical insights to econometricians wanting to estimate binary choice models featuring a continuous endogenous regressor. We use simulated data to investigate the performance of Lewbel’s special regressor method, an estimator that is relatively easy to implement and that relies on different identification conditions than more common control function and Maximum Likelihood estimators. Our findings confirm that the large support condition is crucial for the special regressor method to perform well and that one should be very cautious when implementing heteroscedasticity corrections and trimming since these could severely bias the final estimates

Carafe ou bouteille ? Le rôle de la qualité de l’environnement dans la décision du consommateur

Une part importante de la population française déclare lors d’enquêtes d’opinion ne pas boire l’eau du robinet, bien que la qualité de l’eau distribuée par ce canal fasse l’objet de contrôles sanitaires rigoureux et que le prix de l’eau en bouteille soit environ cent fois plus élevé que le prix de l’eau du robinet. On cherche alors à identifier les facteurs qui incitent les ménages à choisir l’eau du robinet comme eau de boisson. Sur un échantillon de ménages répartis sur la France entière, on montre que, outre les caractéristiques sociodémographiques (niveau de revenu, niveau d’éducation, type d’habitat), la qualité de l’environnement immédiat du ménage, mesurée ici par la qualité des eaux brutes, influence également sa décision de boire l’eau du robinet.

Outils pour chercher de l'information sur R et se former

National audienceDans cette proposition de communications, nous nous proposons de faire le tour de ressources disponibles en ligne pour rechercher des informations sur R, son installation, son utilisation ainsi que de celles qui permettent de se former. Notre ambition n'est pas de fournir une liste exhaustive de ces ressources mais, devant le foisonnement et le développement de sites web, blogs et ressources diverses concernant le logiciel, de faire un descriptif organisé de celles que nous avons utilisées ou appréciées