Consumer Purchasing Behaviors and Attitudes toward Shopping at Public Markets

This paper identifies and empirically evaluates factors that explain the variations in consumers’ attitudes toward shopping at farmers markets in general and public markets in particular. The analysis draws on data from a telephone survey conducted in Jefferson County, Alabama. Logit model results point to several factors that seem to be strongly correlated with consumer purchasing behaviors and attitudes toward shopping at public markets, including income, education, age of household head, household size, and price and quality of produce. The insights gained from the study should help farmers increase the profitability of their operations and improve the likelihood that they will continue farming.Consumer/Household Economics,

A food aid strategy for Haiti : maximizing developmental effectiveness

"The country of Haiti stands at a critical threshold for shaping its political and economic future. Concerted, visionary leadership must be put in place in order to guide the re-shaping of the Haitian economy. The purpose of this report is to provide a basis for USAID decisions about the role that its policies may play in a comprehensive agricultural development strategy for Haiti in order to insure that food needs of the country are met and that hunger and malnutrition are eliminated. Hence, both targeted projects and sectoral reforms must be addressed. Haiti presents a classic case of the political economy of hunger. Hunger and malnutrition plague the lives of a high proportion of the population, particularly the rural poor. Yet, the thrust of government policies, perhaps by necessity, has been directed toward meeting the food needs of a growing urban population. Inadequate attention has been given to developing the adaptive research and extension delivery system that will be required in order to generate major improvements in agricultural production and food distribution. The agricultural sector must play a vital role in the future in insuring that the balance-of-payments and economic growth targets of the country are achieved. Pricing policies, import regulations, and investment strategies should be designed to strengthen the developmental role of agriculture. Food aid has been used in the past to help meet the food needs of the country. Sudden periods of shortages that threaten to drive prices up too suddenly have been supplemented by food aid. Yet, the prices of domestically produced grains have risen more rapidly than the prices of imported food grains, principally wheat, minimizing the concern about price disincentives created by food aid imports. Future policy reform and sustained economic growth will require that food aid be used as a developmental resource and be fully integrated into the agricultural development strategy of the country. Its role in contributing to human resource enhancement and in capital formation that yields more secure, permanent income streams to rural residents through effectively implemented projects must be addressed."--Introduction.Dr. Brady J. Deaton (Professor of Agriculture Economics & Associate Director, Office of International Development, VPI & SU), Dr. Arthur T. Siaway (Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture Economics Tuskegee University), Dr. Marilyn Prehm (Assistant Professor Human Nutrition & Foods, VPI & SU), Dr. Jenice Rankins (Assistant Professor, Food & Nutrition Tuskegee University), Mr. Thomas Whitney (Research Assistant, Department of Agriculture Economics, VPI & SU)Includes bibliographical references

Consumer Purchasing Behaviors and Attitudes toward Shopping at Public Markets

This paper identifies and empirically evaluates factors that explain the variations in consumers’ attitudes toward shopping at farmers markets in general and public markets in particular. The analysis draws on data from a telephone survey conducted in Jefferson County, Alabama. Logit model results point to several factors that seem to be strongly correlated with consumer purchasing behaviors and attitudes toward shopping at public markets, including income, education, age of household head, household size, and price and quality of produce. The insights gained from the study should help farmers increase the profitability of their operations and improve the likelihood that they will continue farming

CONSUMER PURCHASING BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES TOWARD SHOPPING AT PUBLIC MARKETS IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

The purpose of this study was to obtain information that could help farmers increase the profitability of their operations and improve the likelihood that they would continue farming. The specific objective was to empirically evaluate which socio-demographic characteristics and purchasing behaviors encourage consumers to patronize farmers markets, in general and public markets, in particular. Data was drawn from telephone survey responses from 502 potential food shoppers in Alabama. Logit model results point to several factors that seem to be strongly correlated with consumer purchasing behaviors and attitudes toward shopping at public markets, including income, education, age of household head, household size, price and quality of produce

CONSUMER PURCHASING BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES TOWARD SHOPPING AT PUBLIC MARKETS IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

The purpose of this study was to obtain information that could help farmers increase the profitability of their operations and improve the likelihood that they would continue farming. The specific objective was to empirically evaluate which socio-demographic characteristics and purchasing behaviors encourage consumers to patronize farmers markets, in general and public markets, in particular. Data was drawn from telephone survey responses from 502 potential food shoppers in Alabama. Logit model results point to several factors that seem to be strongly correlated with consumer purchasing behaviors and attitudes toward shopping at public markets, including income, education, age of household head, household size, price and quality of produce.Consumer/Household Economics,