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“Look at Me, I’m Buying Organic”: The Effects of Social Pressure on Organic Food Purchases

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  • Kim, Seon-Woong
  • Lusk, Jayson L.
  • Brorsen, B. Wade

Abstract

We investigate whether consumers purchase organic foods to demonstrate social status to others. Subjects were asked to choose among organic and nonorganic milk and apples in a control group and treatments in which: i) an image of another person’s eyes was displayed, ii) responses appeared to not be anonymous, or iii) a vignette placed the choice in the presence of an acquaintance. The vignette treatment increased the willingness-to-pay (WTP) premium for organic by about 90%. The other treatments did not have significant overall effects. When exposed to another person’s eyes, more educated respondents increased their WTP for organic.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Seon-Woong & Lusk, Jayson L. & Brorsen, B. Wade, 2018. "“Look at Me, I’m Buying Organic”: The Effects of Social Pressure on Organic Food Purchases," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 43(3), September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:jlaare:276500
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.276500
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