Estimating Consumers' Willingness-To-Pay for Country-Of-Origin Labels in Fresh Apples and Tomatoes: A Double-Hurdle Probit Analysis of American Data Using Factor Scores

Data are collected from primary shoppers in Gainesville Florida, Atlanta Georgia and Lansing Michigan using a Vickrey (fifth-priced sealed bid) experimental auction and a survey questionnaire to provide a sample of 311 observations useable for analysis. The average willingness to pay (WTP) for country of origin labeling (COOL) "Grown in the U.S." in apples and tomatoes are calculated then tested for equivalence to assess if WTP is produce specific. A double-hurdle probit model is then estimated to ascertain the prominent determinants of WTP for COOL. Independent variables include demographics, food safety and factor scores derived from a factor analysis of food quality and food preference variables. Results show that on average consumers are willing to pay $0.49 and$0.48 for COOL in apples and tomatoes respectively with 79% of the consumers willing to pay more than $0.00 for apples labeled "Grown in the U.S." and 72% in the case of tomatoes. Premiums are found to be statistically equivalent suggesting that WTP for COOL is not produce specific. The double hurdle probit estimation finds most independent variables insignificant with the exception of the food quality factor scores and consumer trust levels for information they receive from U.S. government agencies. Location, age and income also turn out to be significant factors in the case of the truncated part of the estimation as do food quality and food safety concerns.Consumer/Household Economics,

When Buying Fresh Apples and Tomatoes Will Consumers Pay Extra to Have Country of Origin Labeling?

Consumer/Household Economics,

Can smallholder farmers grow? Perspectives from the rise of indigenous small-scale farmers in Ghana

This paper examines the process of growth and the drivers of transition using a quantitative survey of Ghanaian medium- and large-scale farmers. The paper departs from the competing visions on whether to promote small-scale or large-scale farms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) primarily by arguing that an important transition of onetime small-scale farmers is taking place in Ghanaian agriculture and potentially in other SSA countries. This transition is largely unresearched, although it is a critical feature of agricultural transformation with implications for agricultural development strategies in the SSA sub-region. Acknowledgement : We would like to thank the United States Agency for International Development for providing financial support for this study through the IFPRI s Ghana Strategy Support Program. We thank Shashidhara Kolavalli and Xinshen Diao for their insightful comments on this research. This research also benefited from comments by Xiaobo Zhang, Guush Berhane Tesfay and numerous other IFPRI staff during the IFPRI s Retreat for IFPRI Staff Everywhere (RISE). We are solely responsible for any errors and omissions

Estimating Consumers' Willingness-To-Pay for Country-Of-Origin Labels in Fresh Apples and Tomatoes: A Double-Hurdle Probit Analysis of American Data Using Factor Scores

Data are collected from primary shoppers in Gainesville Florida, Atlanta Georgia and Lansing Michigan using a Vickrey (fifth-priced sealed bid) experimental auction and a survey questionnaire to provide a sample of 311 observations useable for analysis. The average willingness to pay (WTP) for country of origin labeling (COOL) "Grown in the U.S." in apples and tomatoes are calculated then tested for equivalence to assess if WTP is produce specific. A double-hurdle probit model is then estimated to ascertain the prominent determinants of WTP for COOL. Independent variables include demographics, food safety and factor scores derived from a factor analysis of food quality and food preference variables. Results show that on average consumers are willing to pay $0.49 and$0.48 for COOL in apples and tomatoes respectively with 79% of the consumers willing to pay more than $0.00 for apples labeled "Grown in the U.S." and 72% in the case of tomatoes. Premiums are found to be statistically equivalent suggesting that WTP for COOL is not produce specific. The double hurdle probit estimation finds most independent variables insignificant with the exception of the food quality factor scores and consumer trust levels for information they receive from U.S. government agencies. Location, age and income also turn out to be significant factors in the case of the truncated part of the estimation as do food quality and food safety concerns