Economic Factors and Body Weight: An Empirical Analysis

With this study, we investigate the effects of changes in economic factors on body weight by constructing a utility theoretic model. The model is empirically estimated by combining data on individuals’ body weight, demographic and physical activity information, and statelevel measures pertaining to the prices of food away from home, food at home, and wages. By combining these data sources, we aim to estimate directly the weight effects of price and income changes. The empirical analysis suggests that decreasing the price of food at home could decrease body weight, a finding which has important public policy implications.body mass index, body weight, obesity, subsidy, tax, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, D11, D12, I18, H20, R22,

What do Haitians need after the earthquake?

The earthquake that hit Haiti in the beginning of 2010 led to tremendous international solidarity in the recovery effort. Despite the tons of aid sent to Haiti, relatively little is known about the effectiveness of the aid or about the continuing needs of the Haitians. Using data collected from in-person surveys with over 1,000 Haitians, we sought to quantify some of the impacts of the earthquake while determining people’s relative preferences for food and other basic needs in the aftermath of the Haiti’s earthquake. The results indicate that almost two-thirds of Haitians lost a friend in the earthquake, and nearly half lost a family member. People report spending more on food in the aftermath of the earthquake, and the level of food aid received does not appear to have any impact on food expenditures. Among different types of aid, Haitians state being most in need of a job – something difficult for international aid agencies to supply over the long run.best-worst scaling, aid relief, earthquake, survey, disaster, Haiti., Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC FACTORS ON CONSUMER HEALTH

This study estimates the relationship between economic factors and consumer health. The results show that increasing prices of food away from home are associated with decreasing the probability of risk factors and health conditions, which emphasizes the need to differ between multiple food types in health demand analysis.Health Economics and Policy,

Consumer Preferences for Amount and Type of Fat in Ground Beef

Scientists and beef industry participants are investigating ways to improve the healthiness of beef. We report results of a nationwide mail survey developed to determine consumers’ preferences for fat content in ground beef and identify how consumers would most like to improve the healthiness of beef. The results from a choice-based conjoint experiment indicate that consumers place significant value on reducing saturated fat and the Omega 6:3 ratio in ground beef, but were relatively unconcerned about conjugated linoleic acid. The relatively new method of best-worst scaling was used to further identify which methods consumers most preferred producers use to improve fat content in beef. The results indicate consumers preferred feeding cattle a grass-fed diet as opposed to supplementing cattle feed with fishmeal or flaxseed to improve the fatty acid content in beef. Although consumers were receptive to the idea of using genetic testing to breed only those cattle with improved fatty acid content, using cloning to achieve this end, was viewed as very undesirable.beef, best-worst scaling, cloning, conjoint, fat, maximum-difference scaling, omega 3 fatty acid, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, M31, Q13,

Appendix to: Welfare Effects of Food Labels and Bans with Alternative Willingness to Pay Measures

Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Activists and Corporate Behavior in Food Processing and Retailing: A Sequential Bargaining Game

This study examines the strategic interaction between food companies and activists using a game theoretic model of sequential bargaining in the absence of complete information. In a rather confined set of circumstances, findings indicate it is always in the best interest of the food company to comply with activists' demands. More frequently, however, there will be cases where compliance is not optimal, depending on the size of the expected effect of protest, cost of defending against protest, and the cost of protest to the activist.activists, corporate behavior, food industries, sequential bargaining game, Agribusiness,

WHOLESALE DEMAND FOR USDA QUALITY GRADED BOXED BEEF AND EFFECTS OF SEASONALITY

This study quantifies the differential in demand between different USDA quality grades of beef and the interaction between quality graded beef and other meats. We provide estimates of meat retailer own and cross price demand elasticities for USDA Choice and Select boxed beef. Results indicate that meat retailers have more elastic demand for lower quality graded beef. Seasonal analysis indicates demand for both beef quality grades becomes highly price inelastic during the summer "cook-out" months. The two beef quality grades are strong substitutes during the fall and winter. However, Select beef is not a substitute for Choice beef in the spring and summer.beef, chicken, demand, pork, quality, USDA Choice, USDA Select, wholesale, Demand and Price Analysis,

The Dual Nature of Choice: When Consumers Prefer Less to More

Economists typically assume that more choice is better, and consumers are more likely to purchase from a larger choice set. However, marketing and psychological studies show this is not always the case. This paper reports results from experiments designed to further investigate the so-called excessive-choice effect. First, we investigate whether people would voluntarily reduce their choice set size. Second, we investigate whether the excessive-choice effect, found in previous studies, is robust to changes in experimental design. Third, we explore how personality influences preferences for choice set size. Results show that the excessive-choice effect indeed exists for some people, but on average people prefer greater choice.Consumer/Household Economics,

EFFECTS OF MEAT RECALLS ON FUTURES MARKET PRICES

The number of meat recalls has increased markedly in recent years. Meat recalls have the potential to adversely affect short run demand for meat because of the associated decline in consumer confidence. This research examines the impact of beef and pork recalls on nearby daily live cattle and lean hog futures market prices, respectively. Results indicate that medium sized beef and large pork recalls that are a serious health concern have a marginally negative impact on short-term live cattle and lean hog futures prices, respectively. However, results are not robust across recall size and severity. This research suggests that if there is any systematic significant change in beef and pork demand due to meat recalls, it likely occurs over an extended period of time and only in certain cases does it noticeably affect daily futures prices.meat recalls, event study, meat demand, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

THE MULTI-PRODUCT ASYMPTOTICALLY IDEAL MODEL: AN APPLICATION TO AGRICULTURE

This paper examines the Multi-Product Asymptotically Ideal Production Model as an alternative to the translog and normalized quadratic functional forms using farm level data. Factors such as ease of estimation, imposition of regularity conditions, and quantitative differences in empirical estimates are compared.AIM, Asymptotically Ideal Model, flexible functional form, cost function, Production Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,