Determinants of how individuals choose,eat and waste: Providing common ground to enhance sustainable food consumption out‐of‐home

The transformation of food consumption in wealthy economies is regarded as an essential measure to reach global sustainability goals. However, existing policies and research activities to change food consumption in the increasingly relevant out‐of‐home sector relate to a wide set of options on how to influence behaviours and may be criticized to lack a general focus. Against this background, our study provides a structured review of the existing research body on the determinants of individuals’ food choices and food consumption out‐of‐home. It structures the various research approaches and findings for 110 selected papers according to a general ecological framework where personal, social and environmental determinants for food behaviours are considered. By providing a collective overview and linking results for different behavioural aspects and settings, this study supports a more general understanding of consumer food behaviour in out‐of‐home settings. Consequently, it also provides a means to identify research gaps and to suggest relevant aspects for future research to draw from the combination of findings and to enhance sustainability in food consumption.     

Applying neutralization theory to fair trade buying behaviour

More and more consumers are willing to pay a premium for fair trade products. However, great potential remains as the market shares of these products are still low. In the present study, neutralization theory was applied to investigate the reasons for consumers hesitating to buy more fair trade products. A postal paper‐and‐pencil survey was sent out using random addresses from the telephone book in the German‐speaking part of Switzerland, resulting in a final sample size of n = 620. The results show that the techniques of neutralization are used to various degrees. A principal component analysis resulted in two strategies of neutralization: an internal strategy (focusing on the consumers themselves) and an external strategy (focusing on the farmers in developing countries). A regression analysis proved that the internal neutralization strategy was an important predictor for fair trade buying behaviour, even when controlling for attitudes towards fair trade.     

Economic Perspectives on Nutrition Policy Evaluation

Too much food energy intake (relative to expenditure) and unbalanced diets are implicated in a range of diseases that impose major burdens on healthcare systems and cause pain and suffering. Governments have responded by introducing a range of measures, mainly targeting information and education, largely to children. However, more interventionist measures have been advocated and, in the past year, various food taxes have been introduced in Denmark, Hungary and France. The Address discusses evaluation of policies, particularly in the light of alternative theories of diet choice (rational choice, systematically irrational, automatic). The public health approach uses quality adjusted life years but fails to distinguish between private and social benefits and takes no account of the drivers of food choice behaviour. The economic approach, based on informed choice, makes the distinction between private and social benefits (if not always explicitly) but struggles to evaluate policies that change utility functions and with behavioural assumptions other than traditional rationality. Alternative assumptions and approaches could put the cost of unhealthy eating anywhere between £10 billion and £100 billion per annum in the UK. Evidence suggests that information measures (to perform or persuade) do not much change diets, nor do they tackle the externality element of unhealthy eating. They may, however, help change long‐term social norms. More interventionist measures like taxes improve social welfare (according to the compensation principle) and reduce health inequalities but are regressive, like all sin taxes. Almost all interventions pass cost‐effectiveness tests.     

公允价值应用下的盈余管理

新会计准则的实施对上市公司的盈余管理产生较大的影响,其中公允价值计量属性的应用,更增加了企业管理当局会计处理的自由度。公允价值应用下盈余管理包括投资性房地产、债务重组、非货币性资产交换、关联交易等管理手段。防范我国上市公司滥用公允价值进行盈余管理,应采取强化信息披露争对相关交易实质的审查,加强公允价值计量内外部监控以及提高信息使用者的识别能力等措施。     

论基于总量控制的排污权交易市场建设

与浓度控制相比,总量控制具有优越性,其将是我国环境管理政策的必然选择。在市场经济条件下,总量控制的实施,必然会产生排污权交易;而总量控制也是排污权交易的基础。因此,我国在由浓度控制向总量控制的转变过程中,要重视排污权交易市场的建设,加快立法步伐,制定科学的排污权交易规则,以适应环境新变化,逐步建立起完善的排污权交易市场。     

论国际贸易的公平制度与中国的基本原则

国际贸易的公平性反映在水平公平和垂直公平两个方面.不同发展水平国家在国际贸易中的地位不同,它们对公平贸易认识的外延角度不尽相同.与贸易自由化相结合的公平贸易理念的实现,依赖于公平贸易制度的成熟程度.国际贸易中的公平制度以全球贸易体制为载体主体,即使现存WTO体制蕴涵的公平贸易制度尚不足以完全保障国际贸易的公平发展,但它毕竟构成了公平贸易制度框架的雏形,如果没有WTO体制蕴涵的公平贸易制度,现实的国际贸易将会更加显失公平.WTO体制的公平贸易制度有待在各利益主体的相互博弈中逐步成熟,中国作为WTO的发展中成员,肩负着公平贸易制度建设的历史使命.     

Does buffet choice architecture affect intake? The effect of relocating butter at a breakfast buffet on food intake

The aim of this study was to investigate if a changed default reduces the intake of butter among students at a breakfast buffet. Students were divided into two groups and served themselves from a breakfast buffet. The control group was offered a buffet where the butter was easily accessible, whereas the intervention group was offered a buffet where a request had to be made for butter. Single packed portions of butter taken from each part of the buffet, the number of students, and the number of habitual users in each group were recorded. At the regular buffet, 67 of 115 students were habitual butter users and 81 packs of butter were taken. At the buffet with the changed default, 16 of the 56 students were habitual butter users. Seventeen packs of butter were taken from the buffet. Slightly displacing butter at a breakfast buffet and forcing students to ask for that option significantly reduced uptake.     

Information and Knowledge as Antecedents of Consumer Attitudes and Intentions to Buy and Recommend Fair-Trade Products

The authors propose and empirically test a causal model to understand how the availability of fair-trade information and consumer knowledge about this issue affect consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward fair-trade products. The model is built upon the attitude-behavior paradigm and the premises of agency theory. It is tested through structural equation modeling with a sample of 292 Spanish consumers. The findings are that consumers do not have good knowledge about fair trade and that this is significantly determined by the lack of information about this in the market. It is also observed that consumers’ perceptions about the availability of fair-trade information have negative effects on their concern about this issue and that such information as is available is not effective in reducing consumer skepticism. The research represents an extension of previous fair-trade literature because the role of information and communication in improving consumer attitudes and buying intentions has rarely been explored in the case of ethical products.     

新会计准则中的公允价值及其面临的问题

2006年2月财政部新颁布的企业会计准则中,一个重大变化是按照现行国际惯例引入了公允价值,改变了历史成本计量属性在我国会计准则中一统天下的局面。本文对公允价值的概念以及引入公允价值在我国可能出现的问题和建议进行简单的分析。     

公允价值计量属性探析

如何将公允价值理论很好地运用于实践,并有效地指导实践是公允价值研究的重点和难点。现就新准则中公允价值的计量属性进行探讨。