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The Implicit Price for Fair Trade Coffee: Does Social Capital Matter?

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  • Moritz Bosbach

    (Università di Napoli Federico II)

  • Ornella Wanda Maietta

    (Università di Napoli Federico II and CSEF)

Abstract

This study aims to ascertain whether the implicit price paid for Fair Trade coffee in regular supermarkets is influenced by the stock of social capital in the territory where consumers live. A hedonic regression set-up is adopted, based on Italian scanner data taken at NUTS3 level. Regressors include attributes described on the label, which contain separate certifications for Fair Trade and organic/eco-label status, plus various indicators of social capital and their interactions with the Fair Trade and organic/eco-label attributes. The consumers’ implicit price paid for the Fair Trade attribute is significantly and positively affected by a social capital proxy, which is the percentage of co-op members over total employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Moritz Bosbach & Ornella Wanda Maietta, 2018. "The Implicit Price for Fair Trade Coffee: Does Social Capital Matter?," CSEF Working Papers 492, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:sef:csefwp:492
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    2. Florence TOUYA, 2019. "Relationships and Nature of Contracts in the Distribution Structure for Responsible Trade," Working Papers 2018-2019_10, CATT - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, revised Oct 2019.
    3. Florence Lachet-Touya, 2019. "Relationships and nature of contracts in the distribution structure for responsible trade," Working Papers hal-02937865, HAL.
    4. Dick Durevall, 2020. "Fairtrade and Market Efficiency: Fairtrade-Labeled Coffee in the Swedish Coffee Market," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Florence TOUYA, 2019. "Relevance of Potential Supply Structures in Frameworks involving Consumer's private Information: the Case of Fair Trade," Working Papers 2018-2019_12, CATT - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, revised Aug 2019.
    6. Florence Lachet-Touya, 2019. "Relevance of potential supply structures in frameworks involving consumer's private information: the case of fair trade," Working Papers hal-02937902, HAL.
    7. Joachim J. Schouteten & Xavier Gellynck & Hendrik Slabbinck, 2021. "Do Fair Trade Labels Bias Consumers’ Perceptions of Food Products? A Comparison between a Central Location Test and Home-Use Test," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ethical consumption; hedonic regression; scanner data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C50 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - General
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • L66 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Food; Beverages; Cosmetics; Tobacco
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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