In relatively unknown products, consumers use prices as a quality reference. Under such circumstances, the utility function can be non-negative for a specific price range and generate an inverted U-shaped function. The extra virgin olive oil market in Chile is a good example. Although domestic production and consumption have increased significantly in the last few years, consumer knowledge of this product is still limited. The objective of this study was to analyze Chilean consumer preferences and willingness to pay for extra virgin olive oil attributes. Consumers were segmented taking into account purchasing frequency. A Random Parameter Logit model was estimated for preference heterogeneity. Results indicate that the utility function is nonlinear allowing us to differentiate between two regimes. In the first regime, olive oil behaves as a conspicuous good, that is, higher utility is assigned to higher prices and consumers prefer foreign products in smaller containers. Under the second regime, Chilean olive oil in larger containers is preferred.
Aim of study: To investigate the impact of adopting new feeding precision technology on pig production.Area of study: Four EU countries (Germany, France, Poland and Spain) during the period 2010–2015.Material and methods: The Färe-Primont index was used to estimate total factor productivity change and its components, technological change and efficiency change.Main results: German, French and Spanish farms experienced total factor productivity (TFP) progress, while Polish farms did not for both feeding strategies. Our empirical findings suggest a high impact on the productivity of ad libitum feeding technique compared to the restricted one for all countries.Research highlights: Precision feeding strategies provide another avenue to more sustainable livestock production and further evidence that implementing individual ad libitum feeding systems for pigs could enhance farm’s productivity.
Factibilidad del uso de contratos de futuros del Chicago Mercantile Exchange para la cobertura del riesgo de precio en el ganado bovino chileno Resumen: El objetivo de este artículo es estudiar la factibilidad del uso de contratos de futuros del Chicago Mercantile Exchange como instrumento de cobertura del riesgo de precio para el ganado bovino en Chile. Para tal propósito, se realizaron pruebas de raíces unitarias estacionales y se utilizó el modelo Johnson-Stein para estimar las ratios de cobertura de mínimo riesgo entre 1975 y 2012. Los resultados muestran que los mercados de ganado bovino están integrados y que la ratio de cobertura óptima para un productor de ganado se encuentra en línea con las ratios estimadas para otros commodities. Estos hallazgos pueden ser útiles para hacedores de política agrícola en países en desarrollo porque confirman el potencial de este tipo de instrumentos para reducir el riesgo de precio entre los productores ganaderos y dan argumentos empíricos para fomentar su utilización.Palabras clave: precios de futuros, mercados financieros internacionales, criterios para la toma de decisiones bajo riesgo e incertidumbre, política agrícola.
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