Cue versus independent food attributes: the effect of adding attributes in choice experiments

Caputo, V.; Scarpa, R.; Nayga, R.

Abstract

We examine the effects of adding an independent food attribute on consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) estimates for both cue and independent food attributes. In three separate choice experiments, a cue attribute present along the entire sequence of choices had independent food attributes enucleated and made explicit from the cue at later stages. Logit models were estimated using (i) a complete panel approach; (ii) error components and (iii) utility in WTP-space. Results suggest that the way a subject processes food attributes depends not only on the design dimensions but also on food attributes’ functional roles. When complexity of designs increases, models that account for different sources of heterogeneity have better fit to the data.

Citation

Caputo, V., Scarpa, R., & Nayga, R. (2017). Cue versus independent food attributes: the effect of adding attributes in choice experiments. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 44(2), 211-230. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbw022

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 24, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Dec 2, 2016
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Oct 31, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 2, 2018
• Journal: European Review of Agricultural Economics
• Print ISSN: 0165-1587
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-3618
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 44
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 211-230
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbw022
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1401994