Domestically produced food: Consumer perceptions of origin, safety and the issue of trust

It is becoming increasingly difficult for the public to attempt to assess risks using traditional methods such as smell, taste or other physical attributes of food. The existence of extrinsic cues such as the country of origin (COO) of food can help to make food purchase decisions easier for consumers. However, the use of extrinsic cues depends heavily on the extent to which consumers trust such signals to be indicative of quality or safety, which in turn depends on the credibility behind that cue. This paper aims to examine consumers association of domestically produced food with increased food safety standards and the association of COO and food safety information with socio-demographics and other aspects of consumer psychology such as attitudes, risk perception and trust. Using an ordered probit model, domestic production is examined as an extrinsic cue for food safety by looking at the relationship with trust in food safety information provided by national food standards agencies (NFSAs) and other socio-demographic characteristics, based on nationally representative data from 2725 face-to-face interviews across five European countries. Results suggest that domestic production of food is an extrinsic cue for food safety and as consumers place increasing importance on food safety they are more interested in food produced in their own country. This, coupled with consumer trust in a strong, and independent national food standards agency, suggests the potential exists for the increased consumption of domestically produced foods.     

Multifunctionality of agriculture: an inquiry into the complementarity between landscape preservation and food security

Without support, the levels of agricultural public goods suchas food security and landscape preservation would fall shortof demand in high-cost countries. However, as demonstrated byNorway as a case study, the current level of support is disproportionatefrom a public goods perspective, and the policy instrumentsare badly targeted at the public goods in question. Becauseagricultural land is a major component of both food securityand landscape preservation, giving rise to a high degree ofcost complementarity between the public goods, it would be moreefficient to support land-extensive production techniques thanproduction per se.     

Effects of media headlines on consumer preferences for food safety,quality and environmental attributes

In recent years, Asia has emerged as an important supplier of food to Western countries. In this study, we focus on shrimp, a major aquaculture commodity, to evaluate consumer willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for enhanced food safety, use of antibiotics and eco‐friendly practices used in producing shrimp in the presence of country‐of‐origin labelling. Specifically, this research assesses the effects of news headlines regarding product safety, as information shocks on U.S. consumer demand. Consumers were found to have a mean willingness‐to‐pay of $7.81 per pound of shrimp with an enhanced safety characteristic from the United States, $0.94 for the same type of shrimp from China and $2.43 for similar shrimp from Thailand. Consumers had a WTP for the absence of antibiotics in the production of U.S. shrimp of $7.31 and were only willing to pay for an eco‐friendly attribute on domestically produced shrimp. Media headlines were found to have a statistically significant effect on consumer preferences and WTP for product characteristics. Food policy and international agribusiness implications of our findings are discussed.     

城市地下空间物品属性及权利结构

研究目的:研究不同类别地下空间的物品属性,在此基础上建立其权利结构,为完善地下空间利用立法提供借鉴。研究方法:文献资料法和比较分析法。研究结果:地下空间在功能区分和时间维度上呈公共物品到私人物品的连续性特点,地下空间权利内涵包括所有权、使用权(地上权和役权)。研究结论:修改和完善相关法律法规,引入空间权制度,建立完善的地下空间权利制度。     

渔业资源的物品属性与渔业制度安排

本文从制度经济学角度分析了海洋渔业资源的物品属性及渔业管理制度安排的基本特征,进而指出我国海洋渔业的主要问题及对策。     

农村公共品供给与农村经济发展契合性及融合机制研究——以江苏省为例

近年来,随着我国农村公共品供求不平衡的现象不断加剧,我国农村地区的经济发展受到了一定程度上的影响,例如农民生产积极性下降、资源分配不合理、基础设施不完善等。文章以江苏省为研究对象,在对其农村公共品供给与经济发展理论契合性论证的基础上,采用文献综述与实际分析相结合的研究方法,发现两者在实际融合过程中存在的供给不足影响经济稳定发展、供给不合理与经济需求不匹配等问题,得出农村公共品供给与农村经济发展是相辅相成的,农村公共品能够为农村经济发展提供基本的保证,反过来农村经济发展也能够加大农村公共品供给的层次与规模的结论。     

Irish consumer perceptions of meat hazards and use of extrinsic information cues

The purpose of this research was to examine the factors that underpin risk perceptions for meat hazards and assess the degree to which these perceptions reflect overall concern. It also sought to identify any differences that exist in information use. A total of 238 meat customers were surveyed in Cork, Ireland. An analysis of consumer perceptions revealed a two-factor structure, 'dread' and 'unknown', similar to Slovic (1992). A perceptual map of the various hazards associated with meat clearly highlighted different groups of hazards and the differing perceptions associated with them. There were groupings between BSE, E-coli and Salmonella, antibiotics, growth hormones and genetic modifications, and saturated fats and cholesterol. Cluster analysis highlighted the differences in attitudes towards meat hazards across the sample population. However, an analysis of the demographic and behavioural variables found no distinguishable features across the identified segments, except in their use of written information. The butcher, quality assurance (QA) marks, country of origin and labelling were identified as the most helpful risk relievers. However, no significant differences were identified between perceived helpfulness and level of perceived 'dread' and 'unknown'. Use of written information by consumers (labels, quality marks and information brochures) was significantly related to their overall concern about hazards.     

国助民营是中国特色的林业发展之路

在对森林的自然、经济和社会属性进行认真研究分析的基础上,论证了森林是陆地生态系统的主体,是人类社会最大的和最重要的公共物品的观点,进而将公共管理理论同中国林情相结合,运用新的公共物品概念和分类方法,得出国助民营是中国特色的林业发展之路的重要结论,并提出了相关政策建议,对制定中国林业发展战略提供一个新的视角。     

Factors Influencing Consumer Willingness to Pay for Low‐Carbon Products: A Simulation Study in China

Consumer choice behavior is crucial to supporting cleaner production and plays an essential role in low‐carbon development and environmental policy‐making. Therefore, combining system dynamics with an agent‐based model (SD–AB), the present study explores influencing factors on both providers' and consumers' sides. Using empirical data from selected firms and a questionnaire survey of residents in China, the simulation results revealed that consumers' low‐carbon awareness and income have little effect on their willingness to pay for low‐carbon products. In contrast, some factors have an obvious effect on consumers' willingness to pay for low‐carbon products, including the delivery speed of low‐carbon products, consumers' patience and degree of satisfaction. Thus, companies that provide low‐carbon products should be more focused on customer expectations and should ensure timely and efficient delivery to consumers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment