The Socioeconomic Drivers of Ethical Food Consumption in Ecuador: A Quantitative Analysis

Cristian Vasco (), Diego Salazar, Darío Cepeda, Gustavo Sevillano, Juan Pazmiño and Shirley Huerta
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Cristian Vasco: Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170129, Ecuador
Diego Salazar: Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170129, Ecuador
Darío Cepeda: Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170129, Ecuador
Gustavo Sevillano: Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170129, Ecuador
Juan Pazmiño: Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito 170129, Ecuador
Shirley Huerta: Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, Universidad de Guayaquil, Guayaquil 090514, Ecuador

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: A significant body of research has analyzed the socioeconomic determinants of ethical consumption, nevertheless, most of those studies have been conducted in high-income countries. With data from a survey with national representation (n = 11,526), this study aimed at analyzing the socioeconomic factors shaping decisions of ethical consumption in Ecuador, a middle-income country, where agroecological production has been proposed as a strategy to reduce rural poverty while promoting sustainable agriculture. Price is the principal purchasing criterion for 78% of the households in the sample, while ecological/organic label and support to local farmers account for 11 and 3% of the sample, respectively. Brand is the principal buying criterion for 8% of the sample. Consistent with prior research, the results of a multinomial probit regression show that ecological consumers are statistically likely to be wealthier and more educated than their price-driven counterparts. Contrary to the findings of previous research in Ecuador, ecological consumers do exhibit environmental awareness. Those with support to local producers as their main purchasing driver are also featured by high levels of wealth and education, nevertheless, they are not as concerned about the environment as their ecological counterparts. The implications of these findings for policy are explored in the Discussion section.

Keywords: ethical consumption; ecological consumers; support to local farmers; multinomial probit; Ecuador (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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