Do Voluntary Biotechnology Labels Matter to the Consumer? Evidence from the Fluid Milk Market |
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| Authors: | Kristin Kiesel David Buschena Vincent Smith |
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| Institution: | Kristen Kiesel is Ph.D. graduate student, Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley. David Buschena is associate professor, and Vincent Smith is professor, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. This research was partially funded through a cooperative agreement between the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and USDA-ERS. |
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| Abstract: | This article examines the effects on the demand of voluntary labeling for the use of genetically modified growth hormone for retail fluid milk using supermarket scanner data. Retail fluid milk tracks one of the first biotechnology products approved, is fairly standardized and ubiquitous, and allows for cross-sectional differentiation between labeled and unlabeled products and between conventional and organic brands. The results indicate that voluntary labeling increases the demand for recombinant bovine growth hormone free milk. In addition, the estimated effects of labeling appear to have increased over time. |
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| Keywords: | biotechnology random utility scanner data search voluntary labeling |
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