This study assessed the effect of information related to the food irradiation process on consumers' willingness to purchase irradiated food products and the perceived consumer segment to which they belonged ("strong buyer," "interested," "doubter," or "rejector" of irradiated food). Two types of information were presented: the nature and benefits of food irradiation and information about two ways in which food can be irradiated. Positive shifts in the responses were observed in both the consumer segment to which they belonged and willingness to buy after the presentation of information about food irradiation technology.
"This paper focuses on estimating willingness to pay for reducing risk of getting foodborne illness using a nonhypothetical field experiment utilizing real food products (i.e., ground beef ), real cash, and actual exchange in a market setting. Respondents were given information about the nature of food irradiation. Single-bounded and one and one-half bounded models are developed using dichotomous choice experiments. Our results indicate that individuals are willing to pay for a reduction in the risk of foodborne illness once informed about the nature of food irradiation. Our respondents are willing to pay a premium of about $0.77 for a pound of irradiated ground beef, which is higher than the cost to irradiate the product." Copyright 2006 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.
This paper evaluates income variable specification and functional form issues in contingent-valuation studies using the utility-theoretic approach. Applying data from a study of willingness to pay for irradiated beef, results suggest that functional form does affect the estimates, but variable specification does not introduce statistically significant differences.
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