Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Locally Produced Ground Beef: A Case Study of the Rural Northern Great Plains

This study examined consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for locally produced ground beef with an emphasis on the impacts of product attributes and the heterogeneity caused by rural consumers’ characteristics. We applied the choice-based conjoint technique to analyze data collected from a typical rural town in the Northern Great Plains. The results indicate that location associated product brand differences and leanness were dominant components affecting consumers’ WTP. The premium of locally produced ground beef for consumers with a close tie to local production is $0.48/lb. Cut difference, grass-fed, and organic were trivial factors in determining consumers’ WTP.     

Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Quality and Safety in Clams

The aim of the research is to estimate the potential demand for certified clams in Italy and to investigate the determinants of maximum amount that respondents are willing to pay for this product. Quantitative analysis was used based on 1,067 face-to-face interviews collected in 3 Italian regions in the north bordering the Adriatic Sea (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna) carried out during 2008. The consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) is measured using a contingent valuation method. In order to estimate separately the determinants of the probability that respondents are willing to pay and the maximum that they are willing to pay, a generalization of Tobit model was adopted. The results indicate that consumers are willing to pay a premium price mainly to purchase better quality products. The research provides some initial insight into consumers' WTP that can be useful for certified fish farming.     

Consumers' Willingness to Pay for the Color of Salmon: A Choice Experiment with Real Economic Incentives

In most retail markets, sellers post the price and consumers choose which products to buy. We designed an experimental market with posted prices to investigate consumers' willingness to pay for the color of salmon. Salmon fillets varying in color and price were displayed in twenty choice scenarios. In each scenario, the participants chose which of two salmon fillets they wanted to buy. To induce real economic incentives, each participant drew one binding scenario; the participants then had to buy the salmon fillet they had chosen in their binding scenario. The choice data were analyzed with a mixed logit model.     

Willingness to Pay for Quality Labeled Meat in a Rural Area

The aim of this study is to identify consumer perceptions and attitudes toward quality labeled pork and beef using cross-sectional consumer data. Given the dramatic changes over the last years in the meat sector as a result of the recent food scares, the study can facilitate better communicating with consumers and gaining insight into their perceptions and behavior toward meat products. A consumer survey was conducted in the rural region of Thessaly in Greece in order to investigate (a) food quality perceptions, (b) attitudes toward pork and beef quality labels, and (c) intentions to purchase higher priced certified pork and beef. The findings suggest that sociodemographic and personal characteristics have an impact on consumer willingness to pay for such products and different market segments can be targeted by marketers and food policymakers.     

Willingness to Pay for Insured Loans in Northern Ghana

Index insurance has been heralded as a potential solution to risk management problems faced by smallholder farmers in developing countries. Despite its potential, demand for standalone index insurance contracts has remained low in early field trials. We investigate the willingness to pay for drought index insurance‐backed loans in northern Ghana using contingent valuation. We find that index insurance lowers overall demand for agricultural loans. We also compare micro‐level index insurance, provided directly to farmers, with meso‐level insurance, provided to the credit agency and find that farmers appear to prefer micro‐level insurance. Finally, farmers are willing to pay to avoid basis risk.     

Estimating Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Quality in the Presence of Item Nonresponse Bias

This article deals with the problem of item nonresponse in contingent valuation surveys using a payment-card method, by applying a grouped-data sample-selection estimation technique that is capable of imputing the missing values conditional upon a respondent's decision to answer a willingness-to-pay question. The advantage of the technique lies in its ability to utilize all of the information in the sample, permitting a more efficient estimation in the presence of item nonresponse bias. The major determinants of willingness to pay appear to be household income, number of children, education, perception of existing water quality, and identification with environmental issues.     

Consumer Willingness to Pay for Cue Attribute: The Value Beyond Its Own

Using Certified U.S. Product as a product cue, we show that consumer willingness to pay for other identifiable search and experience attributes change. Certified U.S. Product serves as a substitute for Guaranteed Tender and a complement of Guaranteed Lean. Results have important implications for policymakers and food companies interested in food labeling programs in the presence of cue attributes such as Certified U.S. Product. The substitute effects of a cue attribute on other product attributes may contribute to deteriorating product quality and the complement effects of a cue attribute could improve product quality in the market.     

生态公益林补偿标准的支付意愿影响因素研究

运用Logistic模型分析了受益者对生态公益林补偿标准的支付意愿影响因素,结果表明:劳动力人数、家庭纯收入、对受益者是否产生影响对生态公益林补偿标准支付意愿具有正向的显著影响;年龄、家庭总人口、耕地面积、林地面积、是否了解生态公益林补偿政策具有负向的显著影响。在分析基础上提出建议:促进居民收入提高;让受益者了解保护生态公益林对个人产生的影响;建立受益者对生态公益林生态效益补偿的机制。     

Extrapolating experimental-auction results using a stated choice survey

During the last decade, experimental auctions and stated choice(SC) surveys have been widely used to study food demand. Thesemethods have complementary strengths and weaknesses. Experimentalauctions are limited by the availability of products and theuse of locally recruited participants, whereas SC surveys lackreal economic incentives. We use an SC survey to extrapolatethe results of an experimental auction to hypothetical productswith non-existing attribute combinations and to a representativesample of Norwegian consumers. The method is illustrated usingNorwegian consumers' preferences for country-of-origin and hormonestatus for beef.     

Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for a Tuberculosis Cattle Vaccine

We use contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiment (CE) methods to assess cattle farmers’ attitudes to and willingness to pay (WTP) for a bovine tuberculosis (bTB) cattle vaccine, to help inform vaccine development and policy. A survey questionnaire was administered by means of telephone interviews to a stratified sample of 300 cattle farmers in annually bTB‐tested areas in England and Wales. Farmers felt that bTB was a major risk for the cattle industry and that there was a high risk of their cattle getting the disease. The CE estimate produced a mean WTP of £35 per animal per single dose for a vaccine that is 90% effective at reducing the risk of a bTB breakdown and an estimated £55 for such a vaccine backed by 100% insurance of loss if a breakdown should occur. The CV estimate produced a mean WTP of nearly £17 per dose/per animal/per year for a vaccine (including 100% insurance) which, given the average lifespan of cattle, is comparable to the CE estimate. These WTP estimates are substantially higher than the expected cost of a vaccine which suggests that farmers in high risk bTB ‘hotspot’ areas perceive a substantial net benefit from buying the vaccine.     

In-Store Valuation of Steak Tenderness

Experimental methods were used to examine consumer willingness-to-pay for steak tenderness in a grocery store setting. When relying on a taste test alone to determine product quality, the participants paid an average premium of $1.23/lb for a tender versus tough steak. Fifty-one percent of the participants were willing to pay an average of $1.84/lb when they had completed a taste test and were also provided information about the steak's tenderness. Results indicate that most consumers prefer more tender steaks and that many are willing to pay a premium for tender steaks.     

Public Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Forest Disease Control in the UK

Invasive pests and diseases in trees impose a range of costs on society related to reductions in timber values, impacts on recreational opportunities and effects on forest biodiversity. These costs need to be considered when assessing control options and developing public policy. We investigate the preferences and willingness to pay of the UK general public for a range of forest disease control measures using a choice experiment with a sample of 605 people. Respondents were relatively well informed about general tree disease‐related issues, such as causes and general measures to minimise the risk of disease spread. They were less knowledgeable about specific tree diseases, with Dutch elm disease and chalara ash dieback being the most well known. We find that disease control programmes in publicly‐owned forests and forests owned by charitable trusts are more likely to be supported by the public than equivalent control programmes in privately‐owned and/or commercial forests. The nature of scientific uncertainty about diseases does not affect peoples’ preferences for disease control measures significantly. Higher respondent income, greater ex‐ante knowledge about tree diseases, and more frequent visits to forests are correlated with greater willingness to support publicly‐funded tree disease control programmes in forests. Better knowledge about tree diseases also improves the clarity of respondents’ choices. We find a negative sentiment against some disease control measures, such as clear felling of a forest, and chemical or biocide spraying. We conclude that there is significant public support for part‐financing forest disease control policies in the UK, but that this is conditional on forest ownership and the type of control measures used.     

Information Barriers to Adoption of Agricultural Technologies: Willingness to Pay for Certified Seed of an Open Pollinated Maize Variety in Northern Uganda

We examine smallholder farmers’ willingness to pay for agricultural technology and whether information is a constraint to adoption of certified maize seed in Northern Uganda. The uptake of improved maize varieties by smallholder farmers in Uganda remains persistently low, despite the higher yield potential compared to traditional varieties. A recently growing body of literature identifies information constraints as a potential barrier to adoption of agricultural technologies. We used incentive compatible Becker‐DeGroot‐Marschak auctions to elicit willingness to pay for quality assured improved maize seed by 1,009 smallholder farmers, and conducted a randomised evaluation to test the effect of an information intervention on farmers’ knowledge of seed certification. Our results show that the randomised information treatment enhanced farmers’ knowledge of certified seed. However, using the information treatment as an instrumental variable for knowledge, we find no evidence of a causal effect of knowledge on willingness to pay, suggesting that even though farmers are information constrained, this constraint does not affect adoption of certified seed directly. Nevertheless, only 14% of sampled farmers were willing to pay the market price, which corresponds closely with actual observed demand for certified seed in the previous season. This suggests that there are other barriers to adoption than information and awareness.     

Valuing traceability of imported beef in Korea: an experimental auction approach*

The major objective of this study is to estimate Korean food shoppers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for imported beef with traceability. We use an experimental elicitation method, the random nth price auction, to identify consumers’ valuation for traceable imported beef. We also analyse the effect of different types of information on these valuations. Results indicate that consumers are generally willing to pay a 39 per cent premium for the traceable imported beef over similar beef without traceability. Results also suggest that in contrast to the insignificant effect of positive information, negative and two‐sided information about traceability significantly reduces WTP.     

Choice of Rice Production Practices in Ghana: A Comparison of Willingness to Pay and Preference Space Estimates

Rice has been identified as an important food security crop in Ghana. However, there is a production deficit and new technologies to reduce the deficit are not widely adopted. Although poor adoption by farmers’ is often linked to constraints such as access to information, farmers’ perceptions of the technologies are also important. We apply an advanced discrete choice experiment to evaluate farmers’ preferences for rice production practices. Specifically, we generate willingness to pay (WTP) estimates using willingness to pay space (WS) and compare these with values from the indirect or preference space (PS) method. Our modelling also accounts for the effects on WTP estimates of farmers’ stated attribute importance (SAI) information. Empirical results from WS and PS models reveal that on average, farmers value higher yields and are negatively affected by higher risk of crop failure and labour requirements. Comparing the performance of the two models, we find the WS model provides a superior fit to our data and reduces the likelihood of producing implausible WTP estimates. Further, SAI inclusion did not produce much variation in our WTP estimates.     

Consumers' willingness to pay for organic rice: Insights from a non-hypothetical experiment in Indonesia

As in many high-income countries, there is increasing awareness towards organic farming in many low- and middle-income countries. Sustained local demand is an essential requirement for further adoption of organic farming by smallholders, who typically have only limited access to export markets. Until now, only few studies have explored the local willingness to pay (WTP) for organic products in low- and middle-income countries in real purchase situations. This paper analyses the consumers' WTP for organic rice in urban and suburban Indonesia using an incentive-compatible auction based on the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak (BDM) approach. We further study the effect of income and a randomised information treatment about the benefits of organic food on respondents' WTP. Estimates suggest that respondents are willing to pay an average price premium of 20% compared with what they paid for conventional rice outside our experiment. However, our results also indicate that raising consumers' WTP further is complex. Showing participants a video about health or, alternatively, environmental benefits of organic food was not effective in further raising WTP. The results can be used as a basis for the design of alternative awareness measures to increase knowledge, interest and demand for organic food.     

经济发达地区耕地非市场价值及居民支付意愿研究——以南京市为例

研究目的：以南京市为例,研究耕地的非市场价值及城乡居民支付意愿的影响因素。研究方法：条件价值法,计量模型。研究结果：（1）南京市耕地的非市场价值为504087.92万元,单价为20760.59元/hm2;（2）57.76%市民和60.32%的农民家庭愿意为耕地非市场价值付费,支付意愿分别为208.33元/户•a和120.26元/户•a;（3）家庭收支水平、年龄、性别、受教育状况、对耕地非市场价值的认知等是影响城乡居民支付意愿的重要因素。研究结论：受家庭支付能力及其在耕地非市场价值方面受到教育的影响,城乡居民对耕地非市场价值的支付意愿并不高。     

Willingness to Pay for Rural Landscape Improvements: Combining Mixed Logit and Random‐Effects Models

This paper reports the findings from a discrete‐choice experiment designed to estimate the economic benefits associated with rural landscape improvements in Ireland. Using a mixed logit model, the panel nature of the dataset is exploited to retrieve willingness‐to‐pay values for every individual in the sample. This departs from customary approaches in which the willingness‐to‐pay estimates are normally expressed as measures of central tendency of an a priori distribution. Random‐effects models for panel data are subsequently used to identify the determinants of the individual‐specific willingness‐to‐pay estimates. In comparison with the standard methods used to incorporate individual‐specific variables into the analysis of discrete‐choice experiments, the analytical approach outlined in this paper is shown to add considerable explanatory power to the welfare estimates.