Trust and affect: how do they impact risk information seeking in a health context?

This study examines college students’ intention to seek information about the H1N1 flu vaccine. We specifically focused on the relationship between trust and affect and whether they work together to influence risk information seeking. Results indicated that positive affect moderated the relationship between trust and information seeking, but negative affect did not. While both positive affect and negative affect influenced risk information seeking, when combined with trust, only positive affect remained as a significant predictor. These results suggest that by understanding the role that trust and affect play, medical professionals and disease control agencies can tailor their communication efforts to increase an individual’s intention to seek information about preventive measures. Specifically, maintaining the public’s trust and positive feelings toward these entities is key to successful communication about prevention measures such as vaccination.     

Information sufficiency and attribution of responsibility: predicting support for climate change policy and pro-environmental behavior

This study extends the central part of the risk information seeking and processing model to examine how message elaboration influences individuals’ support for climate change mitigation policy and their intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Data were collected through online experimental surveys at two large universities in the Northeastern United States. Results indicate that perceived issue salience triggered negative affect and information insufficiency, both of which prompted systematic processing, which subsequently led to greater policy support and stronger intention to adopt more pro-environmental behaviors. From an applied perspective, this study suggests important pathways to encourage greater message elaboration, which may lead to increased public support for mitigation policies and adoption of pro-environmental behavior.     

Gender and the demand for medical care

The consumption of a set of diverse medical services is analysed in an effort to determine the sources of high utilization by women.Unlike previous studies of gender and the demand for medical services,the range of services investigate allows us to draw conclusions about the influence of physicians as agents.We use a modified version of the almost-ideal demand model in the emperical analysis which,unlike the double-log quadratic, or linear demand models, is consistent with constraints imposed by economic theory.Through decomposition of the variance, it was found that if women reported the same series of health indicators as men. their use of most services would fall below that of men.     

Universal Health Care and the Economics of Responsibility

In the American health care system the cost of health insurance is underwritten by all three sectors of the economy: 1) households; 2) employers; and 3) government. However, while costs are shared, responsibility is not. The retreat of private firms and government from assuming a substantial share of the burden of health care costs is based on the presumption that health care is an individual’s responsibility, while the contributions of government and the private sector are basically optional - a matter of benevolence rather than responsibility. The outcome of the current debates over health care reform will depend on this issue of responsibility. Who should pay for health care? Is it a collective responsibility or an individual one? In this paper, we explore the economics of responsibility as it applies to health care. In the institutionalist framework, any reallocation of costs must be driven by an underlying philosophy of shared responsibility.     

Ethical claims and labelling: An analysis of consumers' beliefs and choice behaviours

Abstract

Although consumers' growing interest in ethical consumption has been well-documented, their understanding of specific claims, and the link between their stated concerns and behaviour, has not. Using a framework from systematic-heuristic and behaviour modification theory, this study explored consumers' understanding of varied ethical claims and a specific eco-label, and then estimated the effect these stimuli had on their choice behaviours. In-depth interviews revealed a strong interest in environmental and social attributes but considerable scepticism about specific claims. However, a choice modelling experiment found ethical attributes nevertheless influenced respondents' choices. Two distinct clusters whose views and choice behaviours differed markedly existed: one was primarily price-driven and the other more responsive to specific claims. Discrepancies between the qualitative and quantitative studies appear attributable to differences in information processing; many consumers respond strongly to heuristics, even though they believe themselves sceptical of the claims these communicate. The findings raise important policy questions about the scientific basis of many ethical claims, since consumers were strongly influenced by these, despite their views to the contrary.     

Deregulation of trucking in the United States — Implications for consumers

The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of motor carrier regulation in the United States and to assess the potential benefits and costs to consumers from deregulation of trucking in 1980. Benefits are based on the impact of increased competition and changes in operating restrictions on rates and logistics cost savings while costs are based on changes in highway safety due to the impact of deregulation on truck maintenance, truck driver behavior, and changes in the motor vehicle mix.The results of this study indicate that the partial deregulation of trucking in 1980 entailed considerable benefits due to the relaxation of entry restrictions and changes in operating restrictions. Average annual logistics cost savings were $38 billion from 1981 to 1986. It was concluded that the direct effect of deregulation on highway safety was favorable indicating that truck safety and truck driver behavior had improved under deregulation. However, deregulation had a positive effect on the proportion of miles driven by trucks which, in turn, had a positive effect on fatality rates. Thus, the indirect effect of deregulation was unfavorable. These results suggest that the driving environment, rather than the truck or truck driver, may play a major role in highway safety under deregulation. The need to monitor the adequacy of the existing road system is also reinforced by recent increases in the speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph in many states.

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Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag versucht, die Entstehung der staatlichen Regulierung des motorisierten Transportwesens in den USA aufzuzeigen und die seit etwa 1980 einsetzende Deregulierung des Fernlastverkehrs danach zu beurteilen, welche Vorteile und Nachteile sie für die Verbraucher gebracht hat. Vorteile können sich aus der Wirkung verbesserten Wettbewerbs und geänderter Betriebseinschränkungen auf Gebühren und Transportkosten ergeben. Nachteile können aus Veränderungen der Straßensicherheit wegen schlechterer Fahrzeugwartung oder wegen Verhaltensänderungen bei LKW-Fahrern resultieren.Die Ergebnisse einer Analyse von Zeitreihendaten der Jahre 1957 bis 1986 machen deutlich, daß die teilweise Deregulierung des Fernlastverkehrs im Jahre 1980 durch die Lockerung von Zulassungsbeschränkungen und durch die Änderung von Betriebseinschränkungen beachtlichen Nutzen mit sich brachte. Von 1981 bis 1986 ergab sich bei den Transportkosten eine durchschnittliche Jahresersparnis von 38 Milliarden Dollar. Entgegen den Erwartungen dürfte sich die Deregulierung auch positiv auf die Straßensicherheit ausgewirkt haben, sofern man die Fahrzeugsicherheit und die Verbesserung des Fahrerverhaltens als Indikator dafür ansieht. Gleichzeitig jedoch hatte die Deregulierung auch einen förderlichen Effekt auf die Fahrleistung der Lastwagen, was wiederum die Unfallzahlen erhöhte. Den zuerstgenannten positiven direkten Effekten der Deregulierung stehen somit diese negativen indirekten Einflüsse gegenüber. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, daß es eher die äußeren Fahrbedingungen und nicht so sehr die Lastwagen selber oder die Fahrer und ihr Verhalten sind, die bei der Fahrsicherheit insgesamt die Hauptrolle spielen. Beispielsweise macht es die in vielen US-Bundesstaaten angehobene Geschwindigkeitsbeschränkung von 55 auf 65 Meilen pro Stunde verstärkt notwendig, die Eignung des bestehenden Straßensytems zu überwachen.

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Rachel Dardis is a Professor at the Department of Textiles and Consumer Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. Janet Garkey is a public Responsibility associate at the American Express Company, New York, New York, and Zhiming Zhang is a graduate assistant at the same Department.The publication is article number A-4877 of the University of Maryland Agriculture Experiment Station.The authors are indebted to an anonymous reviewer for his helpful comments and in particular for his suggestions concerning the statistical model used in the analysis of highway safety.