Communicating nutrition information at the point of purchase: An eye‐tracking study of shoppers at two grocery stores in the United States

Providing nutrition information at the point of purchase is one approach that can be used to help consumers adopt and maintain a healthy diet. Previous research has examined consumer self‐reported notice and use of the information as well as how the design of the information affects its attention and use in a laboratory environment using eye‐tracking methodology. This study advances the literature by applying eye‐tracking methodology to explore consumer visual and choice behavior in a real shopping environment, and by recognizing that nutrition information competes with other visual stimuli in the store and consumers are vulnerable to a “limited attention span” for nutrition information in a shopping setting. Data came from a cross‐sectional survey conducted in two grocery stores in the United States in July 2014 with a convenience sample of 60 grocery shoppers while they were selecting and buying items from one of three product categories (ready‐to‐eat cereal, snacks, and soup). The study finds that point‐of‐purchase nutrition information faced strong competition for participants’ attention from other visual elements in a real shopping environment and the attention is dominated by nonnutrition elements, particularly brand/product name, product imagery, and product pricing. Nutrition‐related information, on the other hand, received much less attention, with claims and front‐of‐package nutrition symbols seen by more participants than the Nutrition Facts label. The study suggests that to more effectively enable nutrition information to “catch the eyes” of shoppers at the point of purchase, increasing consumer exposure to the information and enhancing shopper education may merit further investigation.     

Where is the opportunity in opportunity zones?

In December 2017, the U.S. Congress passed into law the Opportunity Zone (OZ) program. As an OZ, designated low-income census tracts provide considerable tax breaks to property investors, intending to attract investments and spur economic growth. As the success of the program is dependent on investors' responses, we analyze market reactions in a difference-in-differences framework. We identify two potential effects on property markets: tax breaks for investors and expected land value appreciation. Our results show that tax breaks are priced efficiently. Qualified properties increase by 7–20% in price, while vacant land increase up to 37%. In contrast, we find limited signs of expected land value appreciation.     

Proxy variable estimation of productivity and efficiency

We model productivity and inefficiency jointly, instead of modeling and estimating either only productivity or only inefficiency with many variable and quasi-fixed inputs. In the first model, we use a multi-step procedure. We use the proxy variable method based on the first-order condition (FOC) of expected profit maximization with respect to the single variable input to take care of the endogeneity problem arising from both productivity and inefficiency. To separate mean inefficiency from mean productivity we assume them nonparametric functions of different sets of exogenous variables. In the second model, we consider a novel system consisting of the production function and the FOCs of expected profit maximization for the multiple variable inputs. Distributional assumptions are made on all the random errors associated with the production function, the FOCs, productivity, and inefficiency functions in the second model. We use the Colombian food manufacturing data as an application of our model.     

IMAGINING A DECOLONIZED CITY IN AND FROM AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND

Imagining decolonized cities creates space to explore how urban places could strip away colonial dominance and restore the ability of Indigenous people to live, know and be. In this essay, we describe one attempt to create such space. While working in Porirua in Aotearoa New Zealand, we ran an urban design competition, hosted workshops with young people and held a symposium. Through all three phases we drew on utopian thinking to imagine beyond the current constraints of urban form in Aotearoa New Zealand to consider how cities might reflect the diverse realities of Māori. While this approach is an attempt at generating hopeful geographies, it also sat in tension with (post)colonial realities, such as racist attempts by white people to claim Indigeneity, and the ongoing need for land to be returned to Indigenous people. We argue that envisioning how cities might be decolonized is useful and needs to be rooted in the particular politics of place, but this imagining needs to be paired with action to confront persistent colonialism.     

Localized sentiment trading in heterogeneous labor markets: evidence from free agent signings

We show that free agent signings in U.S. professional sports are associated with localized sentiment trading effects. Responses are influenced by player performance, labor contract and sport structure characteristics unique to each league. Football signings lack guarantees and are noisy signals while the most informative baseball signings reflect player performance. Sentiment effects of basketball signings are mixed. Investors respond positively to contract extension announcements, but negatively to new contract negotiations, with either the current team or a different franchise. Exceptions are for free agents with high performance rankings or who are perceived to improve the odds of winning a championship. We also provide some evidence that sentiment trading is driven primarily by retail investors.