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Value of parsimonious nutritional information in a framed field experiment

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  • Jo, Jisung
  • Lusk, Jayson L.
  • Muller, Laurent
  • Ruffieux, Bernard

Abstract

This study investigates consumers’ beliefs about the tastiness and healthiness of 173 food items in a framed field experiment designed to mirror a grocery shopping environment. Using data collected from 129 food shoppers in Grenoble, France, demand models are estimated to determine how product choice is affected by price, taste, and perceived healthiness, and how choices change with the provision of objective health information. Unlike previous studies focusing on relatively complex nutrition labels, we elicit and convey health information using simple nutritional indices meant to lower search and cognitive processing costs. The results indicate that consumers are willing to pay for tastier foods and for healthier foods, particularly if the consumers have objective information (as opposed to perceived, subjective information) on nutrient content. The estimates suggest that the value of the type of nutritional information provided in the experiment is €0.98 per day. The figure refers to the daily welfare benefits that arise from being able to make a set of choices that better reflect people’s preferences by receiving the nutrient index information on all 173 food items versus not having such information.

Suggested Citation

  • Jo, Jisung & Lusk, Jayson L. & Muller, Laurent & Ruffieux, Bernard, 2016. "Value of parsimonious nutritional information in a framed field experiment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 124-133.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:63:y:2016:i:c:p:124-133
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.07.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Gustafson, Christopher R., 2023. "Comparing the impact of targeted subsidies and health prompts on choice process variables and food choice: The case of dietary fiber," Staff Papers 330132, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    2. Jayson L Lusk, 2019. "Consumer beliefs about healthy foods and diets," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Concetta Nazzaro & Marcello Stanco & Giuseppe Marotta, 2020. "The Life Cycle of Corporate Social Responsibility in Agri-Food: Value Creation Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    4. Young, Jeffrey S., 2021. "Measuring palatability as a linear combination of nutrient levels in food items," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    5. Grebitus, Carola & Davis, George C., 2017. "Change is good!? Analyzing the relationship between attention and nutrition facts panel modifications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 119-130.
    6. Jasper Grashuis, 2021. "A price premium for the farmer‐owned label? A choice experiment with milk consumers in the Netherlands," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(4), pages 749-763, October.
    7. Gustafson, Christopher R., 2023. "Comparing the impact of subsidies and health prompts on choice process variables and food choice: The case of dietary fiber," OSF Preprints u4v5c, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Experiment; Food labels; Health; Taste; Value of information; Willingness-to-pay;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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