Are Preferences for Food Quality Attributes Really Normally Distributed? An Analysis using Flexible Mixing Distributions

Caputo, V.; Scarpa, R.; Nayga, Jr. R.M.; Ortega, D.L.

Abstract

We empirically question the commonly invoked assumption of normality of taste distribution in mixed logit models with continuous random parameters. We use a WTP-space random utility discrete choice model with flexible distributions on data from two choice experiments regarding beef with nested set of quality attributes. We specifically focus on distributional features such as asymmetry, multi-modality and range of variation, and find little support for normality. Our results are robust to attribute dimensionality in experimental design. Implications of our results for practitioners in the field are discussed.

Citation

Caputo, V., Scarpa, R., Nayga, J. R., & Ortega, D. (2018). Are Preferences for Food Quality Attributes Really Normally Distributed? An Analysis using Flexible Mixing Distributions. Journal of Choice Modelling, 28, 10-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocm.2018.04.003

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 23, 2018
• Online Publication Date: May 21, 2018
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Apr 27, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 21, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Choice Modelling
• Electronic ISSN: 1755-5345
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Pages: 10-27
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocm.2018.04.003
• Keywords: Flexible taste distributions, Mixed logit, Logit mixed logit, Food preferences, Preference heterogneity.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1332454