This paper estimates an AIDS model and corrects for first-order autocorrelation using retail meat data. We fail to reject the null hypothesis of no BSE announcement effects.
Increased traceability of food and food ingredients through the agri‐food chain has featured in recent industry initiatives in the Canadian livestock sector and is an important facet of the new Canadian Agricultural Policy Framework (APF). While traceability is usually implicitly associated with ensuring food safety and delivering quality assurances, there has been very little economic analysis of the functions of traceability systems and the value that consumers place on traceability assurances. This paper examines the economic incentives for implementing traceability systems in the meat and livestock sector. Experimental auctions are used to assess the willingness to pay of Canadian consumers for a traceability assurance, a food safety assurance, and an on‐farm production method assurance for beef and pork products. Results from these laboratory market experiments provide insights into the relative value for Canadian consumers of traceability and quality assurances. Traceability, in the absence of quality verification, is of limited value to individual consumers. Bundling traceability with quality assurances has the potential to deliver more value.
A survey of commercial feeder cattle operations in Utah revealed that explicit transaction costs such as transportation, shrink, and commissions can not fully explain how marketing alternatives are selected. Implicit transaction costs appear to play a critical role in the determination of market selection. For example, the level of trust between buyer and seller and the socio-economic characteristics of market participants are determinants of which marketing method will be used to sell feeder cattle.
A shopper survey was conducted to determine willingness to pay for ice cream with different labels. A statistical analysis was conducted using stated choices by respondents. The randomized choices were 1) a local brand with or without an indication it had a Utah’s Own designation, 2) a local brand with and without a locally-produced designation, 3) a private label product , and 4) a national brand product. The results suggested that brands affect willingness to pay for ice cream. However, shoppers were willing to pay a significant positive amount more for ice cream with the local designations.
