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The organic food price premium and its susceptibility to news media coverage: Evidence from the U.S. milk industry

Author

Listed:
  • Gayle, Philip
  • Wang, Jin
  • Fang, Shengnan

Abstract

This paper investigates the extent to which media coverage on organic dairy issues influences consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the organic attribute of milk. We find that news with contents most often viewed as negative toward organic dairy are more powerful in decreasing consumers’ WTP for the organic attribute of milk compared to the positive WTP impact of news articles with contents most often viewed as positive toward organic dairy. Interestingly, consumers' increasing exposure to organic dairy news that even take a neutral stance on the organic attribute also increases their WTP for the organic attribute.

Suggested Citation

  • Gayle, Philip & Wang, Jin & Fang, Shengnan, 2022. "The organic food price premium and its susceptibility to news media coverage: Evidence from the U.S. milk industry," MPRA Paper 113924, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:113924
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kiesel Kristin & Villas-Boas Sofia B, 2007. "Got Organic Milk? Consumer Valuations of Milk Labels after the Implementation of the USDA Organic Seal," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-40, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Smoluk-Sikorska, Joanna, 2023. "Price Relations of Organic and Conventional Fruit and Vegetables," Roczniki (Annals), Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA), vol. 2023(4).
    2. Capps, Oral & Wang, Lingxiao, 2024. "U.S. Household Demand System Analysis for Dairy Milk Products and Plant-Based Milk Alternatives," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343575, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Organic Food; Organic Price Premium; Newspaper Coverage; Milk Industry;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • M30 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - General
    • Q00 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - General

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