Consumer Preferences for Food Label Information: A Basis for Segmentation

Analysis of consumer reactions to food labeling alternatives using conjoint measurement raises questions concerning policy proposals to provide consumers with information. Conjoint measurement permits analysis of components of consumer perceptions without tedious data collection and analysis procedures. The study indicates that consumer preferences for information vary widely and an optimal policy should provide different labels for different market segments. Increasing the amount of information may reduce its effectiveness among the low income consumers it is intended to help.     

Trade-Offs Between Purchased Services and Time in Single-Parent and Two-Parent Families

This research examines the influence of marital status on the demand for services using a model in which the demand for market services and mothers' time spent in related household activities are jointly determined. Three specific areas of market services are investigated: meals prepared away from home, child care, and housekeeping. In multivariate systems analyses in which mothers' household work time and purchased services were simultaneously determined, families headed by single mothers were found to (a) purchase more meals prepared away from home and (b) be more likely to purchase child care and housekeeping services than their two-parent counterparts holding income and other factors constant.     

Families' use of the 1982 tax cut income

The likely allocation of extra income from the 1982 U.S. income lax rate reduction by a group of consumers was investigated. Eighty-five percent of the sample indicated they were likely to spend the additional income and 75% that they would save or invest it. Saving was related to income and age. Those indicating they were likely to save said they would require a larger sum of money as a result of the tax cut in order to make a decision about its use than did those who were most likely to spend it.