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Got green milk? Field Experimental Trail of Consumer Demand for a Climate Label

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  • Matsdotter, Elina
  • Elofsson, Katarina
  • Arntyr, Johan

Abstract

A majority of consumers claim to prefer climate labelled food over non-labelled alternatives. However, there is limited empirical evidence that such labels actually influence consumer behaviour when shopping. In a randomized field experiment, conducted in 17 retrial stores in Sweden, the short run effects of a voluntary climate labelling scheme on milk demand were measured. Results suggest that climate labelling increased demand by approximately 7%. The response is significantly smaller than suggested by consumer surveys, but larger than observed in earlier studies of actual purchasing behavior where quantitative information on climate impact is provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Matsdotter, Elina & Elofsson, Katarina & Arntyr, Johan, 2014. "Got green milk? Field Experimental Trail of Consumer Demand for a Climate Label," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 183076, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:eaae14:183076
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.183076
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    Cited by:

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    2. Vlaeminck, Pieter & Jiang, Ting & Vranken, Liesbet, 2014. "Food labeling and eco-friendly consumption: Experimental evidence from a Belgian supermarket," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 180-190.
    3. Shewmake, Sharon & Okrent, Abigail & Thabrew, Lanka & Vandenbergh, Michael, 2015. "Predicting consumer demand responses to carbon labels," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 168-180.
    4. Li, Xiaogu & Jensen, Kimberly L. & Clark, Christopher D. & Lambert, Dayton M., 2016. "Consumer willingness to pay for beef grown using climate friendly production practices," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 93-106.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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