Master of Science / Agricultural Economics / John A. Fox / This study examines consumer acceptance of omega-3 enhanced beef using data from a choice experiment and a retail trial. The retail trial was conducted in collaboration with La Vaca Meat Company, Littleton, CO which offered omega-3 enhanced beef products for sale both online and in-store. Prices were adjusted periodically, and online customers were surveyed to gather information about their purchase decisions. The choice experiment was included in an online survey conducted with a nationally representative sample of consumers. One version of the survey focused on ground beef and another focused on steak. Within each version separate treatments examined the impact of providing information about how levels of the most beneficial omega-3s could be enhanced in beef. The choice experiment evaluated how variation in meat attributes such as omega-3 content, safety, and tenderness influenced purchase decisions. Data from the choice experiment were analyzed using multinomial logit models. Results indicate that overall acceptance and willingness to pay for omega-3 enhanced beef was below that of grass-fed beef. Additional information about omega-3s increased willingness-to-pay for enhanced omega ground beef, but had no impact on willingness-to-pay for enhanced omega steak. The analysis showed significant heterogeneity in preferences, and, in particular, females had significantly higher willingness-to-pay for grass-fed ground beef than males. Average willingness-to-pay for grass-fed steak was estimated at $3.69/lb above conventionally raised product, compared to an estimated premium of $1.86/lb for enhanced omega steak. For ground beef the average premium for grass-fed product was estimated to be $1.27/lb compared to $0.79/lb for the enhanced omega product.

During last decade there has been developed concept of so-called ecosystem services (e.g. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005) in matured countries. This concept focus especially on identification of benefits resulting from intact ecosystem and also on various ways of taking all those benefits into account when dealing with decision-making process of market economy. Goal of this concept (among other things) is to keep currently freely available ecosystem services in nature as they are and also to ensure natural conditions for life won't be becoming worse. Landscape of eastern Ore Mountain has its specific character especially because of few unique ecosystems which don't occur in other locations at all; or they are presented there but not in such high volume. We can consider mountain meadows, natural streams and clearance cairns at the most important local unique ecosystems. Main goal of diploma thesis is to analyze recreational and mainly aesthetic values of clearance cairns. Even though clearance cairns are important biotopes there was quite small attention dedicated to them in existing analyses made in Czech Republic. That is in heavy contrast to attention dedicated to those biotopes in other areas, e.g. in eastern part of Ore Mountain belonging to Saxony where local inhabitants appreciate clearance cairns so much that every single section of them is completely documented (resulting into 1.000 kilometers of documented clearance cairns). Diploma thesis is based on methodology using analysis of primary data obtained from empirical research. Research was realized in eastern Ore Mountain during summer 2013 and author of this thesis was actively participated both in preparation phase and also in realization phase. Thesis also uses random utility theory, discrete choice models and also stated preferences methods (e.g. Bateman et al., 2002). Multinominal logit model and random parameter logic model are used for values estimation. Based on performed analysis thesis verifies or disproves hypothesis saying that willingness to pay for clearance cairns is statistically insignificant (i.e. people don't consider this landscape element as having significant value). Diploma thesis results will be used as a suggestion for obtaining clearance cairns management.

Utilisées dans un contexte de laboratoire ou d'enquête, les méthodes déclaratives sont très largement utilisées pour estimer les préférences des consommateurs. Les méthodes incitatives de l’économie expérimentale permettent de pallier les biais hypothétiques qui peuvent affecter les méthodes purement déclaratives. Ce travail présente une série d’études basées sur des comparaisons méthodologiques permettant de tester la validité inter-méthodes et d’amorcer la question de la validité externe des mesures. Associés aux travaux déjà présentés dans la littérature, ce travail à permis de mettre en évidence les atouts et les limites des mesures non-hypothétiques (mécanisme BDM et expérience de choix réel) d’une part l’une par rapport à l’autre, et d’autre part par rapport aux mesures hédoniques. Deux résultats majeurs ont été obtenus. Premièrement, le mécanisme BDM permet de révéler les préférences pour un produit même si sa valeur unitaire est faible. Deuxièmement, les deux approches de révélation des consentements à payer donnent des résultats cohérents au niveau agrégé, mais différents au niveau individuel, sans que l'on puisse imputer ces différences aux méthodes ou à l'instabilité des comportements des sujets. Enfin, ce travail argumente et illustre l'intérêt des mesures en situation de terrain qui permettraient d’augmenter la valeur prédictive des mesures de consentement à payer. / Used in a laboratory or survey setting, the declarative methods are very widely used to estimate the consumers preferences. The experimental economic incentive methods allows to make up for hypothetical bias which can affect purely declarative methods. This work sets out several experiments based on methodological comparisons allowing to test the inter-methods validity and to begin external measure validity question. In line with literature previous works, this work allows to highlight assets and limits of the non-hypothetical measures (BDM mechanism and real choice experiment), first one relative to another, second relative to hedonic measures. Two major results were obtained. First, the BDM mechanism allows to reveal the preferences of a product even if its unit value is low. Secondly, both methods used to reveal willingness to pay give coherent results regarding aggregate level, but different regarding individual level, without being able to impute these differences to methods or to instability of the participants behaviour. Finally, this work argues and illustrates assets of field situation measures which would allow to increase predictive values of the willingness to pay measures.

An evidence-based policy debate about future fuel demand requires reliable estimates for fuel price elasticities. Such predictions are often based on revealed preference (RP) data. However, this procedure will only yield reliable results in the absence of severe structural discontinuities. In order to overcome this potential limitation we used a situational stated preference (SP) survey to estimate the response to hypothetical fuel price changes beyond the scope of previous observations. We elicit fuel price elasticities for price increases up to four Euros per liter and find that the situational approach predicts the actual responses to previously observed fuel price changes very well. We conclude that applying a situational approach is particularly useful, if behavioral predictions for unprecedented (non-monetary) policy interventions or supply side shocks are of interest that go beyond the reach of standard RP approaches.

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The overarching question that this thesis sheds some light on is whether making PES more equitable increases the likelihood that they will be successful. The findings of the three empirical chapters suggest that policy-makers would do well to keep equity consideration in mind when designing PES. The first of these chapters is based on the results of a survey of dozens of PES in Latin America. The second and third chapters use a deliberative choice experiments approach to measure participant preferences towards different equity design characteristics of PES in an indigenous community in Colombia, where one of these programs is likely to be implemented in the near future.

The research utilizes a Discrete Choice Experiment to assess consumer preferences and determine blockchain-based food traceability's relative importance and utility in the food purchasing process. The study specifically tests five selected attributes of olive oil, including price, organic label, olive oil type, country of origin, and blockchain traceability. Additionally, a survey is conducted to evaluate Swedish consumers' knowledge levels concerning blockchain technology and its application in the food system to improve transparency. The study also explores consumer evaluations of safety and sustainability information and their willingness to pay price premiums for food products verified for safety and environmental claims. The findings indicate that while Swedish consumers possess moderate knowledge of blockchain technology, their understanding of its specific application in food traceability is limited. Nevertheless, consumers highly value access to accurate information about the safety and sustainability of their food purchases. A considerable portion of respondents express a willingness to pay a premium for products verified for safety, authenticity, and sustainability. The choice experiment results reveal that blockchain-based food traceability ranks lower in relative importance than the price and organic label but higher than olive oil type and country of origin. The findings of this study contribute to bridging the existing gap in the understanding of blockchain-based food traceability technology among Swedish consumers.

<p>Wildlife species generate value through their consumptive and non-consumptive uses. Consumptive uses of these species include hunting and trapping, while wildlife watching is an example of a non-consumptive use. Understanding the value of various wildlife is imperative for public agencies’ management decisions regarding different wildlife areas (e.g., nature preserves, state forests/parks, reservoirs, county/city parks). Individuals’ values for wildlife interactions on public lands can depend on the context in which these interactions occur as well as the probability of an interaction occurring. We utilize a stated preference choice experiment to estimate Indiana residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a marginal increase in the chance of seeing white-tailed deer and five furbearing species (bobcat, coyote, river otter, raccoon, red fox) while engaging in their favorite activities at Indiana recreational areas. Our WTP estimates are analogous to value of statistical life (VSL) calculations, and hence we refer to them as the “value of a statistical species” (VSS). We find that the VSS of a bobcat ranges from $22.73 to $41.30, the VSS of a coyote ranges from -$1.94 to $9.74, the VSS of a raccoon ranges from $5.25 to $21.69, the VSS of a red fox ranges from $43.31 to $62.52, the VSS of a white-tailed deer ranges from $22.70 to $27.00, and the VSS of a river otter ranges from $23.18 to $45.98. Our analysis suggests that individuals’ values for wildlife depend on the activity they are undertaking when they see the wildlife.  </p>

Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity and have devastating impacts on individuals, both humanitarian and economic, particularly in developing countries. Microinsurance is seen as one promising instrument of disaster risk management, however the level of demand for respective projects remains low. Using behavioural games and a discrete choice experiment, this paper analyses the demand for hypothetical microinsurance products in rural Cambodia and contributes significant household level evidence to the current research. A general preference for microinsurance can be found, with demand significantly affected by price, provider, requirements for prevention and combinations with credit. Furthermore, financial literacy, risk aversion, levels of trust and previous disaster experience impact the individual demand for flood insurance in rural Cambodia.

<p> </p> <p>This dissertation consists of three essays that examine the response of small businesses to disruptions in their environment. The first two essays focused on small non-farm businesses in the United States and how they deal with natural disasters. The last essay examined smallholder farm households in Malawi, and how their household labor allocation decisions are affected by land allocation to estates in their communities. The individual essays are summarized as follows:</p> <p>Essay 1: <em>A Conditional Process Approach to Understanding the Role of Adjustment Strategies and Disaster Experience in Racial Disparities in Small Business Performance. </em>Considering that most minority owned businesses have limited access to formal systems, this essay explored how race could indirectly affect business performance (measured as percentage revenue growth) through the adoption of three informal strategies: customer base expansion, supplier base expansion and family adjustment strategies. It also explored whether these indirect effects are moderated by experience with natural disaster. The results showed that being a racial minority was positively associated with revenue growth such that on average, minority business owners experienced 29% higher revenue growth than white-owned businesses (p<0.05) on business performance. It also showed a modest indirect effect of race on revenue growth through each mediating strategy (p<0.5). However, the results did not support a moderating role for disaster experience. </p> <p>Essay 2: <em>Willingness to Pay for Comprehensive Cyclone Insurance Coverage by Small Business Owners: Evidence from the Coastal States of the United States</em>. Small businesses in the coastal United States are usually uninsured or underinsured for cyclone events. The underinsuring of these businesses could be a result of limited insurance coverage as well as individual characteristics of small business owners. Using a discrete choice experiment, this essay used a hypothetical comprehensive cyclone insurance to understand what insurance attributes are important to small business owners. It also examined the role of previous disaster experience, charity hazard as well as temporal orientation on the willingness to pay for the disaster insurance. This study used a discrete choice experiment to elicit insurance preferences from small coastal businesses which employed less than 100 employees. A mixed logit model was used to analyze the data. The results showed that business owners exhibited positive marginal utilities from policies that covered flood, windstorm, and business interruption regardless of the combination. Notably, the mixed logit model showed that on average, business owners were willing to pay up to 450%, 472%, and 482% more than their total monthly business insurance premium payment for insurance that covers flood and business interruption, windstorm and business interruption, and flood, windstorm and business interruption respectively. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression showed that respondents who had previously experienced cyclones were more willing to pay for the presented insurance policies than those who have not. Future orientation was also found to be positively associated with the marginal willingness to pay for the insurance policies.</p> <p>Essay 3: <em>Estates and Small-Holder Agricultural Labor Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa:</em> <em>A Case Study of Malawi. </em>Estates are larger than the average farm holdings, which mostly grow one crop, require large capital investment, are centrally managed and rely a lot on hired labor. With such large investments in agricultural land, the labor decisions of smallholder households in Africa will likely be altered. This essay therefore examined the role of estate farms on smallholders’ allocation of labor between on-farm, and off-farm demand and supply of casual labor using the <em>ganyu</em> system of Malawi as a case-study. Using the Malawi Integrated Household Panel survey covering the years 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019, we estimated the effect of estates on the participation of smallholders on these labor decisions as well as the number of days spent in each activity. We also investigated the effect of these estates on community agricultural labor (<em>ganyu) </em>wage rates and the share of income accruable to ganyu and crop production. Linear probability (LPM), as well as tobit-correlated random effects (CRE) regressions were used to test these effects. Both models showed that the share of estates had a negative correlation with <em>ganyu </em>demand. The Tobit CRE regression showed that on average a 1% increase in the percentage share of agricultural land occupied by estates was associated with a modest 0.04% (p<0.01) decrease in the number of days <em>ganyu </em>labor was demanded, and a 0.02% increase in the number of days household members spent on their own farms. Further results showed that households in communities with higher shares of estates participated in less non-crop farming activities especially wage employment. We also found that the negative relationship between estates and <em>ganyu </em>demand was accentuated among households with higher levels of assets, and farm income. Finally, we found a modest negative relationship between share of estates and community <em>ganyu </em>wage rates </p>