Consumer attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) food products are complex and differ across c... more Consumer attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) food products are complex and differ across cultures. This study uses consumer survey data to compare consumer attitudes towards GM food across Canada, China, Japan, Norway, and the United States. The comparisons are based on the significance of covariates included in country-wise estimations of willingness to pay for GM foods. The Canadian respondents were similar to U.S. respondents. Japan and China differ more from each other than do Japan and Norway. The Chinese were the most favorable toward GM foods. We argue that cultural attitudes including valuing tradition and skepticism of science must be considered when marketing GM products.
Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics-revue Canadienne D Agroeconomie, 2007
This paper uses individual apple-level data that include consumer sensory assessments and instrum... more This paper uses individual apple-level data that include consumer sensory assessments and instrumental measurements of internal quality to analyze willingness to pay for Washington State Gala apples. Three distinct models are estimated: a model that includes destructive internal quality measures of apple characteristics, a model that utilizes only non-destructive internal quality measures, and a consumer model that includes subjective consumer sensory evaluations and consumer socio-demographic characteristics. The objective is to identify instrumental measures of internal quality that can be used to inform the apple industry of consumer preferences. The consumer model serves as a benchmark. Finally, we evaluate whether non-destructive measures of internal quality can substitute for destructive measures. We find that firmness and soluble solids content are significant and can be measured effectively using non-destructive measures. Implications of the findings for the apple industry in terms of marketing and possible “elite” standards for apples are discussed.Le présent article utilise des données individuelles, notamment des évaluations sensorielles et des mesures instrumentales, pour analyser la volonté de payer des consommateurs pour des pommes Gala de l'État de Washington. Nous avons estimé trois modèles : un modèle comprenant des mesures instrumentales qui affectent la qualité interne des pommes; un modèle qui utilise des mesures instrumentales qui n'affectent pas la qualité interne; un modèle du consommateur qui comprend des évaluations sensorielles subjectives et des caractéristiques sociodémographiques. L'objectif consistait à identifier les mesures instrumentales qui pourraient être utilisées pour renseigner l'industrie pomicole sur les préférences des consommateurs. Le modèle du consommateur a servi de point de référence. Finalement, nous avons examiné si les techniques non destructives de mesure de la qualité interne pouvaient ou non remplacer les techniques destructives. Nous avons trouvé que la fermeté et la teneur en solides solubles sont des caractéristiques importantes et qu'elles peuvent être mesurées efficacement au moyen de techniques non destructives. Nous discutons des répercussions de ces résultats sur l'industrie pomicole sur le plan du marketing et de l'établissement possible de normes ≪élite≫.
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2003
Housing appreciation rates reflect the speed of the market's adjustment to equilibrium. The dynam... more Housing appreciation rates reflect the speed of the market's adjustment to equilibrium. The dynamic effect of a hazardous waste site is analyzed by investigating the causal relationship between housing appreciation rates and house location in relation to a hazardous waste site using resale data from individual sales transactions in Dallas County, Texas. The results indicate that residential property owners in close proximity to the hazardous waste site experienced lower housing appreciation rates after the time period when the US Environmental Protection Agency identified the site. The adjustment to equilibrium, as reflected in differential housing appreciation rates, can be quite lengthy in response to the identification and cleanup process for a hazardous waste site. The results suggest that cleanup actions are not as important as new information that the area surrounding the site is a dangerous place.
Many economists have estimated hedonic price functions for red and white wine. However, estimatin... more Many economists have estimated hedonic price functions for red and white wine. However, estimating a single hedonic price function imposes the assumption that the implicit prices of the attributes are the same for any red or white wine. We argue that even within these two categories, wines are differentiated, and disregarding this heterogeneity causes an aggregation bias in the estimated implicit prices. By estimating hedonic functions specific to price ranges, we show that the wine market is segmented into several product classes or market segments. We find that a model accounting for the existence of wine classes has greater ability to explain the variability in the data and produces more accurate and interpretable results regarding the implicit prices of the attributes.
There is a lack of public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) food products in Europe. Using ... more There is a lack of public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) food products in Europe. Using a dichotomous choice contingent valuation methodology, we find that, on average, survey respondents with a positive attitude toward the use of biotechnology in food production, higher educated, younger, and male need less of a discount to choose to purchase bread made with GM wheat. Further, we estimate confidence intervals for the mean discount required for consumers to choose GM bread. The 95% confidence interval for the mean discount required for the respondents to choose the GM bread is a 37% to 63% discount relative to conventional bread.
Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2005
The discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’, in ... more The discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’, in Japan caused anxiety about consuming beef and beef products. As a result, there was a sudden fall in sales of beef that hurt the Japanese beef industry as well as major beef exporters to Japan. We analyse factors that affect Japanese consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) price premiums for BSE-tested beef and estimate the mean WTP for BSE-tested beef using data obtained from a consumer survey in Japan. A single-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation model is used to recover the premium amount. We find that attitudes to food safety, reduction in beef consumption following the BSE outbreak, and being female all have a statistically significant positive effect on the WTP for BSE-tested beef. Interestingly, demographic variables such as age and income do not affect the WTP, possibly indicating that the BSE scare similarly affected multiple segments of the population. In our sample, consumers are willing to pay a premium on average of greater than 50 per cent for BSE-tested beef.
Consumer attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) food products are complex and differ across c... more Consumer attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) food products are complex and differ across cultures. This study uses consumer survey data to compare consumer attitudes towards GM food across Canada, China, Japan, Norway, and the United States. The comparisons are based on the significance of covariates included in country-wise estimations of willingness to pay for GM foods. The Canadian respondents were similar to U.S. respondents. Japan and China differ more from each other than do Japan and Norway. The Chinese were the most favorable toward GM foods. We argue that cultural attitudes including valuing tradition and skepticism of science must be considered when marketing GM products.
Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics-revue Canadienne D Agroeconomie, 2007
This paper uses individual apple-level data that include consumer sensory assessments and instrum... more This paper uses individual apple-level data that include consumer sensory assessments and instrumental measurements of internal quality to analyze willingness to pay for Washington State Gala apples. Three distinct models are estimated: a model that includes destructive internal quality measures of apple characteristics, a model that utilizes only non-destructive internal quality measures, and a consumer model that includes subjective consumer sensory evaluations and consumer socio-demographic characteristics. The objective is to identify instrumental measures of internal quality that can be used to inform the apple industry of consumer preferences. The consumer model serves as a benchmark. Finally, we evaluate whether non-destructive measures of internal quality can substitute for destructive measures. We find that firmness and soluble solids content are significant and can be measured effectively using non-destructive measures. Implications of the findings for the apple industry in terms of marketing and possible “elite” standards for apples are discussed.Le présent article utilise des données individuelles, notamment des évaluations sensorielles et des mesures instrumentales, pour analyser la volonté de payer des consommateurs pour des pommes Gala de l'État de Washington. Nous avons estimé trois modèles : un modèle comprenant des mesures instrumentales qui affectent la qualité interne des pommes; un modèle qui utilise des mesures instrumentales qui n'affectent pas la qualité interne; un modèle du consommateur qui comprend des évaluations sensorielles subjectives et des caractéristiques sociodémographiques. L'objectif consistait à identifier les mesures instrumentales qui pourraient être utilisées pour renseigner l'industrie pomicole sur les préférences des consommateurs. Le modèle du consommateur a servi de point de référence. Finalement, nous avons examiné si les techniques non destructives de mesure de la qualité interne pouvaient ou non remplacer les techniques destructives. Nous avons trouvé que la fermeté et la teneur en solides solubles sont des caractéristiques importantes et qu'elles peuvent être mesurées efficacement au moyen de techniques non destructives. Nous discutons des répercussions de ces résultats sur l'industrie pomicole sur le plan du marketing et de l'établissement possible de normes ≪élite≫.
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2003
Housing appreciation rates reflect the speed of the market's adjustment to equilibrium. The dynam... more Housing appreciation rates reflect the speed of the market's adjustment to equilibrium. The dynamic effect of a hazardous waste site is analyzed by investigating the causal relationship between housing appreciation rates and house location in relation to a hazardous waste site using resale data from individual sales transactions in Dallas County, Texas. The results indicate that residential property owners in close proximity to the hazardous waste site experienced lower housing appreciation rates after the time period when the US Environmental Protection Agency identified the site. The adjustment to equilibrium, as reflected in differential housing appreciation rates, can be quite lengthy in response to the identification and cleanup process for a hazardous waste site. The results suggest that cleanup actions are not as important as new information that the area surrounding the site is a dangerous place.
Many economists have estimated hedonic price functions for red and white wine. However, estimatin... more Many economists have estimated hedonic price functions for red and white wine. However, estimating a single hedonic price function imposes the assumption that the implicit prices of the attributes are the same for any red or white wine. We argue that even within these two categories, wines are differentiated, and disregarding this heterogeneity causes an aggregation bias in the estimated implicit prices. By estimating hedonic functions specific to price ranges, we show that the wine market is segmented into several product classes or market segments. We find that a model accounting for the existence of wine classes has greater ability to explain the variability in the data and produces more accurate and interpretable results regarding the implicit prices of the attributes.
There is a lack of public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) food products in Europe. Using ... more There is a lack of public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) food products in Europe. Using a dichotomous choice contingent valuation methodology, we find that, on average, survey respondents with a positive attitude toward the use of biotechnology in food production, higher educated, younger, and male need less of a discount to choose to purchase bread made with GM wheat. Further, we estimate confidence intervals for the mean discount required for consumers to choose GM bread. The 95% confidence interval for the mean discount required for the respondents to choose the GM bread is a 37% to 63% discount relative to conventional bread.
Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2005
The discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’, in ... more The discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’, in Japan caused anxiety about consuming beef and beef products. As a result, there was a sudden fall in sales of beef that hurt the Japanese beef industry as well as major beef exporters to Japan. We analyse factors that affect Japanese consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) price premiums for BSE-tested beef and estimate the mean WTP for BSE-tested beef using data obtained from a consumer survey in Japan. A single-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation model is used to recover the premium amount. We find that attitudes to food safety, reduction in beef consumption following the BSE outbreak, and being female all have a statistically significant positive effect on the WTP for BSE-tested beef. Interestingly, demographic variables such as age and income do not affect the WTP, possibly indicating that the BSE scare similarly affected multiple segments of the population. In our sample, consumers are willing to pay a premium on average of greater than 50 per cent for BSE-tested beef.
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Papers by Jill McCluskey