Modeling the Impact of Food Safety Information with No Information

This paper aims to propose a stochastic approach to measure the time pattern of a food scare, which does not require the inclusion of additional explanatory variables such as a news index. The application is based on the 1982 Heptachlor milk contamination in Oahu, Hawaii.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Consumer Welfare and the Loss Induced by Withheld Information: The Case of BSE in Italy

The paper develops a measure of consumer welfare losses associated with withheld information about BSE linkage with vCJD. food safety. The Cost of Ignorance (COI) is measured by comparing the utility of the informed choice with the utility of the uninformed one, under condition of improved information. Unlike previous work, based on a single equation demand model, the measure is obtained retrieving a cost function from a dynamic Almost Ideal Demand System. The results indicate that Italian consumers bore a significant loss because of the delayed release of information.Food safety, welfare analysis, information, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, BSE, D80, D60, D12,

Rational Addiction, Cointegration and Tobacco and Alcohol Demand

In this paper we embed the Almost Ideal Demand System within a dynamic disequilibrium model, and derive a set of interrelated Euler equations which characterizes optimal consumption allocations under adjustment costs. It is argued that when applied to alcohol and tobacco expenditure, the proposed specification features the rational addiction hypothesis, as both forward-looking rational behaviour and habit formation are explicitly accounted for. The suggested estimation approach controls for potential nonstationarity in the underlying time-series. Results relative to UK tobacco and alcohol demand support the adopted specifications and highlight the degree of complementarity between addictive goods.Cointegration, Forward-looking behaviour, Rational Addiction, VAR model Cointegrazione, Comportamento forward-looking, Dipendenza Razionale, Modelli VAR

A Latent-Variable Approach to Modelling Multiple and Resurgent Meat Scares in Italy

This paper aims to measure the time pattern of multiple and resurgent food scares and their direct and cross-product impacts on consumer response. The Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) is augmented by a flexible stochastic framework which has no need for additional explanatory variables such as a media index. Italian aggregate household data on meat demand is used to assess the time-varying impact of a resurgent BSE crisis (1996 and 2000) and the 1999 Dioxin crisis. The impact of the first BSE crisis on preferences seems to be reabsorbed after a few months. The second wave of the scare at the end of 2000 had a much stronger effect on preferences and the positive shift in chicken demand continued to persist after the onset of the crisis. Empirical results show little relevance of the Dioxin crisis in terms of preference shift, whilst not excluding the more relevant price effect.meat demand, BSE, shock, Almost Ideal Demand System, Kalman filter, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D12, I12,

A structural model of wealth, obesity and health in the UK

Based on a household health production framework, this paper exploits the combination of socioeconomic, health and nutrition information from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey to analyze the endogenous relationship among wealth, nutrition, weight and the final health outcomes. Results show that higher wealth determines lower weight and better health as expected, but through a better diet rather than extra exercise or lower calorie consumption.Structural Equation Modelling, Body Mass Index, Diet, Blood Pressure, Income, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Diet quality and income in Rural and Urban China: evidence from the Health and Nutrition Survey

The specific objective of this paper is the investigation of the link between an improvement in Chinese households’ wealth and the quality of their diet and the role played by this relationship on the overall nutrition transition process. Better economic conditions mean a worsening of the diet in terms of higher energy intakes from fats, only partially compensated by higher fruit and vegetable intakes. China nutrition transition is going on and the rapid economic growth may lead to adverse health consequences if the negative effects of this transition will not be contrasted.Nutrition, diet quality, China, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The 2010 Volcanic Ash Cloud and Its Financial Impact on the European Airline Industry

Naturkatastrophe; Vulkan; Luftverunreinigung; Luftfahrtindustrie; Soziale Kosten; Island; Europa

Rational Addiction, Cointegration and Tobacco and Alcohol Demand

In this paper we embed the Almost Ideal Demand System within a dynamic disequilibrium model, and derive a set of interrelated Euler equations which characterizes optimal consumption allocations under adjustment costs. It is argued that when applied to alcohol and tobacco expenditure, the proposed specification features the rational addiction hypothesis, as both forward-looking rational behaviour and habit formation are explicitly accounted for. The suggested estimation approach controls for potential nonstationarity in the underlying time-series. Results relative to UK tobacco and alcohol demand support the adopted specifications and highlight the degree of complementarity between addictive goods

Risk perception and chicken consumption in the avian flu age - a consumer behaviour study on food safety information

As the avian flu pandemic threatens Europe, consumer awareness of the theoretical possibility of contraction of the avian flu virus through consumption of chicken saw a decline in demand at the end of 2005, with peaks between 40% - 50% in Southern European countries such as Italy whilst having little impact on demand in Northern countries like the UK. Such food scares, coupled with an increasing awareness of food safety issues by the general public, highlight the importance of evaluating the perceived risks associated with food purchasing and consumption are paramount in order to provide effective policy communication in this area. There is considerable empirical evidence that different consumers respond to food risk communication in different ways. This implies that policymakers and food firms cannot rely on a single public information strategy for emerging food risks. Furthermore, the impact of food safety information varies significantly according to the sources that provide it. Using data are from a nationally representative pan-European survey of 2 725 respondents from five EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom), we show that in a situation of increased perceived risk hence increased levels of involvement households across the EU are likely to respond in culturally specific ways which suggest a need for country level policy design.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Food Scares and Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective

In this paper a consumer food choice model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is extended to account for risk perception and trust. The data are from a nationally representative European survey of 2 725 respondents from five countries, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The model relates the intention to purchase chicken in an extended TPB framework, which incorporates risk perceptions, and trust in alternative sources of food safety information. This model was run for two behaviours of interest: the standard likelihood of intention to purchase and the likelihood of intention to purchase conditional on news about a salmonella incident. The model has good predictive power and shows distinct country differences. Only in the case of a food scare do risk perceptions and trust come into play. The findings suggest that the government policy priority should be on building and maintaining trust in food and health authorities, and research institutions, while food chain actors could eliminate many of the adverse consequences of a food scare if they could build public trust. Interestingly there is no relationship between socio-demographic variables and the trust placed by consumers in food safety information.food safety information, trust, risk perception, Theory of Planned Behaviour, chicken, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D80, D12, Q18,