Trust in Authorities Monitoring the Distribution of Genetically Modified Foods: Dimensionality, Measurement Issues, and Determinants

Based on a combined internet and mail survey in Germany the independence of indicators of trust in public authorities from indicators of attitudes toward genetically modified food is tested. Despite evidence of a link between trust indicators on the one hand and evaluation of benefits and perceived likelihoods of risks, correlation with other factors is found to be moderate on average. But the trust indicators exhibit only a moderate relation with the respondents' preference for either sole public control or a cooperation of public and private bodies in the monitoring of GM food distribution. Instead, age and location in either the New or the Old Lander are found to be significantly related with such preferences.consumer trust, genetically modified foods, monitoring, food safety, Agricultural and Food Policy, D18, Z13,

Consumer trust and willingness to pay for certified animal-friendly products

Increasing animal welfare standards requires changes along the supply chain which involve several stakeholders: scientists, farmers and people involved in transportation and slaughtering. The majority of researchers agree that compliance with these standards increases costs along the livestock value chain, especially for monitoring and certifying animal-friendly products. Knowledge of consumer willingness to pay (WTP) in such a decision context is paramount to understanding the magnitude of market incentives necessary to compensate all involved stakeholders. The market outcome of certification programs is dependent on consumer trust. Particularly, there is a need to understand to what extent consumers believe that stakeholders operating in the animal-friendly supply chain will respect certification standards. We examine these issues using a contingent valuation survey administered in five economically dominant EU countries. The implied WTP estimates are found to be sensitive to robust measures of consumer trust for certified animal-friendly products. Significant differences across countries are discussed

Preferences, trust and willingness to pay for food information: An analysis of the Italian Market

Lack of consumer trust and communication strategies are probably the main determinants of information failure in modern food markets. This study attempts to tackle these aspects affecting the quality of food information by investigating questions related to what topics are more relevant to consumers, who should disseminate trustful food information, and how communication should be conveyed. Primary data were collected both through qualitative (in depth interviews and focus groups) and quantitative research. Quantitative research was conducted by means of a questionnaire administered in 2006-2007 to a sample of Italian respondents using both a web and a traditional mail survey. Reading preferences, willingness to pay and trust towards public and private sources conveying information through a hypothetical food magazine were assessed combining factor analysis, choice modelling and a criterion-based market segmentation. The study shows that reading preferences of Italian consumers can be summarized along three dimensions: agro-food system, enjoyment and wellness. Furthermore, willingness to pay for receiving food-related information is influenced by trust towards the type of publisher, which plays also a key role in market segmentation together with socio-demographic and economic variables such as gender, age, presence of children and income. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.food information, trust, preference heterogeneity, segmentation, Italy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D12, D18, D89, Q18,

Do Consumers Want Public or Private Bodies to Monitor Animal Friendly Production and Marketing Schemes? And Does Trust Matter?

Producing according to enhanced farm animal welfare (FAW) standards increases costs along the livestock value chain, especially for monitoring certified animal friendly products. In the choice between public or private bodies for carrying out and monitoring certification, consumer preferences and trust play a role. We explore this issue by applying logit analysis involving socio-economic and psychometric variables to survey data from Italy. Results identify marked consumer preferences for public bodies and trust in stakeholders a key determinant.animal welfare standards, certification, consumer trust, monitoring, stated choice, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

Farm Animal Welfare, Consumer Willingness to Pay, and Trust: Results of a Cross-National Survey

Higher animal welfare standards increase costs along the supply chain of certified animal-friendly products (AFP). Since the market outcome of certified AFP depends on consumer confidence toward supply chain operators complying with these standards, the role of trust in consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for AFP is paramount. Results from a contingent valuation survey administered in five European Union countries show that WTP estimates were sensitive to robust measures of consumer trust for certified AFP. Deriving the WTP effect of a single food category on total food expenditure is difficult for survey respondents; hence, a budget approach was employed to facilitate this process.Animal welfare, certification, consumer trust, WTP, budget approach, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, C81, Q13, Q18,

Segmenting the Italian coffee market: marketing opportunities for economic agents working along the international coffee chain

Globalization, either directly or indirectly (e.g. through structural adjustment reforms), has called for profound changes in the previously existing institutional order. Some changes adversely impacted the production and market environment of many coffee producers in developing countries resulting in more risky and less remunerative coffee transactions. This paper focuses on customization of a tropical commodity, fair-trade coffee, as an approach to mitigating the effects of worsened market conditions for small-scale coffee producers in less developed countries. fair-trade labeling is viewed as a form of “de-commodification” of coffee through product differentiation on ethical grounds. This is significant not only as a solution to the market failure caused by pervasive information asymmetries along the supply chain, but also as a means of revitalizing the agricultural-commodity-based trade of less developed countries (LDCs) that has been languishing under globalization. More specifically, fair-trade is an example of how the same strategy adopted by developed countries’ producers/ processors (i.e. the sequence product differentiation - institutional certification - advertisement) can be used by LDC producers to increase the reputation content of their outputs by transforming them from mere commodities into “decommodified” (i.e. customized and more reputed) goods. The resulting segmentation of the world coffee market makes possible to meet the demand by consumers with preference for this “(ethically) customized” coffee and to transfer a share of the accruing economic rents backward to the Fair-trade coffee producers in LDCs. It should however be stressed that this outcome cannot be taken for granted since investments are needed to promote the required institutional innovations. In Italy FTC is a niche market with very few private brands selling this product. However, an increase of FTC market share could be a big commercial opportunity for farmers in LDCs and other economic agents involved along the international coffee chain. Hence, this research explores consumers’ knowledge of labels promoting quality products, consumption coffee habits, brand loyalty, willingness to pay and market segmentation according to the heterogeneity of preferences for coffee products. The latter was assessed developing a D-efficient design where stimuli refinement was tested during two focus groups.fair-trade coffee, product decommodification, choice experiments, International Relations/Trade,

Electronic Commerce in Agriculture and Agribusiness: the Case of Emilia-Romagna (Italy)

Despite the expectations of the benefits of this tool, the adoption of Electronic Commerce(EC) by small and medium firms of the agro-food sector in Italy is still not frequent, however, the understanding of opportunities it could create and how they can be exploited remains a relevant issue. This study, carried out in the Emilia -Romagna region during 2002, illustrates the results of a survey of 208 firms at all stages of the agro-food chain aimed at understanding the use of the Internet and the strategies adopted for EC implementation. The results show a low level of implementation of the instrument and a limited variety of adoption strategies. Agro-food firms actually invest very little in EC focusing their efforts on the Internet as promotion tool, while web-based direct selling is confined to market niches. The view that the Internet would reverse the disadvantages of small firms appears by now non realistic, even if interesting opportunities for further development are still present.E-commerce, agribusiness, Emilia-Romagna (Italy)

Piloting a meta-database of agroecological transitions: an example from sustainable cereal food systems

Despite the fact that policy makers and governments are promoting the development of diverse agro-bio food systems to push and promote sustainability, they are challenging to implement because of a series of obstacles that hinder a successful transition from a conventional to an agro-ecological model of agriculture. Produce is extremely heterogeneous and agricultural technology is often not standard, rather alternative, and knowledge is contextual, tacit and place-specific. However, information about the characteristics of these systems is still sparse and difficult to analyse because of the complexity and multidimensionality. As a result, the aim of this paper is to review the existing literature in order to identify a coding system that allows for the creation of a meta-database of case studies on agroecological transitions. This coding system will be piloted in six case studies dealing with agrobiodiversity along cereal food systems producing grains, bread and pasta in France, Italy and the UK. In this analysis, we found that both the transition towards sustainable agriculture and the reduction of transaction costs require social innovation, which benefits from strong social capital. In the conclusions, we discuss the efficacy of the proposed coding scheme and its ability to capture in-depth information contained in similar case studies

A complex system perspective on the emergence and spread of infectious diseases: integrating economic and ecological aspects

The emergence and spread of infectious diseases reflects the interaction of ecological and economic factors within an adaptive complex system. We review studies that address the role of economic factors in the emergence and spread of infectious diseases and identify three broad themes. First, the process of macro-economic growth leads to environmental encroaching, which is related to the emergence of infectious diseases. Second, there are a number of mutually reinforcing processes associated with the emergence/spread of infectious diseases. For example, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases can cause significant economic damages, which in turn may create the conditions for further disease spread. Also, the existence of a mutually reinforcing relationship between global trade and macroeconomic growth amplifies the emergence/spread of infectious diseases. Third, microeconomic approaches to infectious disease point to the adaptivity of human behavior, which simultaneously shapes the course of epidemics and responds to it. Most of the applied research has been focused on the first two aspects, and to a lesser extent on the third aspect. With respect to the latter, there is a lack of empirical research aimed at characterizing the behavioral component following a disease outbreak. Future research should seek to fill this gap and develop hierarchical econometric models capable of integrating both macro and micro-economic processes into disease ecology

DAMEWARE - Data Mining & Exploration Web Application Resource

Astronomy is undergoing through a methodological revolution triggered by an unprecedented wealth of complex and accurate data. DAMEWARE (DAta Mining & Exploration Web Application and REsource) is a general purpose, Web-based, Virtual Observatory compliant, distributed data mining framework specialized in massive data sets exploration with machine learning methods. We present the DAMEWARE (DAta Mining & Exploration Web Application REsource) which allows the scientific community to perform data mining and exploratory experiments on massive data sets, by using a simple web browser. DAMEWARE offers several tools which can be seen as working environments where to choose data analysis functionalities such as clustering, classification, regression, feature extraction etc., together with models and algorithms.Comment: User Manual of the DAMEWARE Web Application, 51 page