Consumer Preferences for ‘Localness’ and Organic Food Production

While organic food is based on well-defined production criteria, the criteria for ‘local’ food are less clear. This study investigates the preferences and trade-offs of distinct consumer segments relative to organic production and several dimensions of local food (sales channel, size of company, and geographical location of animals used in the production). The analysis is based on a quantitative survey of 505 Danish consumers and a choice experiment involving beef salami. Data were analyzed in a principal component and a latent class analysis. We identify five consumer segments whose preferences for organic and local product attributes differed substantially. Most respondents considered geographical proximity in the raising of cattle to be the most important attribute and a third of the consumers were willing to pay a premium for organic salami. The segmentation provides more detailed information about stated consumer behavior than what is typically elicited when considering only average consumer behavior.     

Is an Increase in Organic Consumption Accompanied by A Healthier Diet? A Comparison of Changes in Eating Habits among Danish Consumers

Several studies have shown that consumers with a high organic consumption often have dietary habits that include more fruit and vegetables but less red meat. This paper takes a novel approach by investigating whether changes in consumption of organics and improvements in dietary habits also are related. The results show that many consumers seem to improve their diet while increasing the organic consumption. Further, the study suggests that some households already have a relatively healthy diet in terms of fruit, vegetables, and meat consumption, when they start buying organic food. When organic consumption reaches a certain level, further increases in organic consumption are more likely to take place at the same time as dietary habits are improved. References to health and climate considerations seem to be the most important motivations for reducing meat consumption, while higher availability of organics is the most important reason for increasing organic consumption.     

The Stability and Instability of Organic Expenditures in Denmark,Great Britain,and Italy

This article concerns demand for organic foods in 3 European countries: Denmark, Great Britain, and Italy. Based on extensive sets of household panel data we categorize households into 4 groups according to their levels of organic consumption. Importance of sociodemographics is estimated by applying multinomial logit models. In all 3 countries a high organic consumption is mainly found among the more well-situated households in urban areas. Although the relative size of the user groups is fairly stable over time, we find variation in the organic consumption of individual households.     

Assessing the impact of nocturia on health-related quality-of-life and utility: results of an observational survey in adults

Background and aim: The impact of nocturia (getting up at night to void) on health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) is often under-estimated. This study investigated the relative burden in terms of HRQoL and utilities of nocturia in a real-world setting.

Methods: Patient data were collected from two surveys: a nocturia-specific, cross-sectional survey of physicians and their patients (DSP), and a general UK population health survey (HSFE). Utilities (EQ-5D-5L), productivity (Work Productivity and Activity Index), and the impact of nocturia symptoms (Nocturia Impact Diary and Overactive Bladder Questionnaires) were assessed against the number of voids. A robust linear regression model with propensity score weights was used to control for confounding factors in estimating utilities.

Results: Physician-recorded data were available from 8,738 patients across the US, Germany, Spain, France, and the UK; of these, 5,335 (61%) included patient-reported outcomes. In total, 6,302 controls were drawn from the two surveys and compared to 1,104 nocturia patients. Deterioration of HRQoL was associated with increasing number of night-time voids (p?p?p?Limitations: The cause of nocturia is multifactorial and the mostly elderly patients may have several concomitant diseases. The authors tried to adjust for the most common ones, but there may be diseases or unknown relationships not included.

Conclusions: Nocturia negatively affected HRQoL and patient utility. A clear effect is seen already at two voids per night. Every effort should, therefore, be made to reduce nocturia below the bother threshold of two voids per night.     

Consumer Preferences for Organic Food and for the Shares of Meat and Vegetables in an Everyday Meal

Abstract

It is well established that consumers with positive preferences for organic products generally also tend to have healthy eating habits involving many fruits and vegetables but less meat. While most studies are based on single product comparisons, this study investigates consumer preferences for organic ingredients and content of meat and vegetables in the context of an everyday evening meal. Moreover, we address heterogeneity in preferences. The study is based on an online survey including a choice experiment with 506 consumers. Using principal component and latent class analyses, we identify three segments of consumers that differ with respect to preferences for organic production and content of meat and vegetables in their meals. Our findings may be valuable for authorities promoting healthy food consumption just as they provide valuable input to the catering industry and other suppliers of dinner dishes in the development and marketing of both organic and non-organic ready meals.     

Excluding women from the technologies of the future? : A case study of the culture of computer science

In this article the authors show how the culture and ideas of a small male minority of students, the computer hackers, come to dominate computer science in the eyes of the female students. This minority culture is reinforced by the values and interests of the most powerful (male) groups in computer science, the male professors and teachers and their disciples, the dedicated students. In this way, a male-dominated and machine-fixated culture works to marginalize women     

Growth and government: Is there a difference between developed and developing countries?

I examine the role of government in the growth of 64 industrialized and developing countries, considering both expenditure and financing aspects of government. Recognizing that there may be differences between the two country groups, I estimate both standard OLS and dummy variable regressions. The general conclusion is that although most fiscal variables are not significantly related to economic growth, the means of financing matters more than government spending. I find that seigniorage and the budget surplus are important for growth, but the LDCs is the group that drive the results in all regressions.     

Consumers’ Grouping of Organic and Conventional Food Products—Implications for the Marketing of Organics

A detailed account of the way consumers choose to group different varieties of organic and conventional food produce might have practical implications in terms of improved space management in supermarkets and better targeted promotions of organic products. The results presented here were obtained in a case study using a web-based questionnaire and 849 Danish consumers. The consumers were asked to group the contents of a virtual basket of organic and non-organic fruits and vegetables into two smaller baskets. A significant share of the consumers grouped the food products according to whether or not they were organic. These consumers were found to have significantly higher levels of confidence in the benefits of organic produce, to state significantly higher levels of organic consumption and higher willingness to pay for organoleptic attributes of fresh milk, than consumers who placed fruits in one basket and vegetables in the other.     

Determinants of farmers’ willingness to participate in subsidy schemes for pesticide-free buffer zones—A choice experiment study

Danish farmers have been far less interested in agri-environmental subsidy schemes (AES) than anticipated. In order to examine how to improve the appeal of such schemes, a choice experiment was conducted concerning 444 Danish farmers’ preferences for subsidy schemes for pesticide-free buffer zones. A random parameter logit framework was used to capture heterogeneity among farmers. Our results indicate that 1) the vast majority of farmers are willing to trade off the size of the subsidy for less restrictive scheme requirements and that 2) the amount of the subsidy they are willing to trade off varies with specific scheme requirements, suggesting which features are most important for successful policy design. Our results suggest that farmers value flexible contract terms higher than reduced administrative burdens. Finally, we suggest a practical approach to estimating a monetary value of farmers’ reluctance to participate in AES. While the trade off's that farmers are willing to make between subsidy size and individual scheme requirements are case specific, our results concerning increased use of farm advisors, farmers ability of valuing different types of flexibility, and our attempt to place a monetary value on farmers’ reluctance to engage in regulatory subsidy schemes have a potentially broader application platform.     

Choke Price Bias in Choice Experiments

This paper reports on the results from a split sample choice experiment, where the effect of changing the maximum level of the cost attribute is investigated. The hypothesis was that changing the maximum price level would either give rise to an income effect or have no effect on consumers’ preferences. This was tested in the framework of a valuation study of different quality characteristics of minced pork. The data was analysed using a mixed logit error component model, which accounts for correlation in the unobserved part of the utility. Results suggest that the size of the maximum price level does matter, and that changing the maximum price level has a statistically significant effect on both the general preferences structure and the WTP estimates. Hence, researchers should be very careful when defining not only the range of the price attribute but also the maximum level of the price attribute.