Consumer Preferences and Welfare Evaluation under Current Food Inspection Measures in China: Evidence from Real Experiment Choice of Rice Labels

Wenjing Nie, David Abler (), Liqun Zhu, Taiping Li and Guanghua Lin
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Wenjing Nie: College of Humanities and Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Liqun Zhu: College of Humanities and Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Taiping Li: College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Guanghua Lin: College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: Frequent food quality and safety issues result in various food inspection measures in China, while some are not widely acknowledged by the public and are less efficient. Consumer demand is significant for priority setting in food policy. This study investigates Chinese consumers’ heterogeneous preferences for selected food inspection measures and estimates welfare effects based on willingness-to-pay (WTP) calculation. Rice consumption data from a 2018 nationwide consumer survey designed using the real choice experiment is analyzed by the random parameters logit and the latent class model. The findings reveal that consumers place a high value on government certification, and brand is valuable especially when public management is perceived as weak. However, the insufficient market demand for third-party certification may increase transaction costs due to overlapping functions and consumers’ distrust. Moreover, there should be a need to broaden consumers’ understanding of traceability and grading systems. This study emphasizes the necessity of direct governmental involvement and the existence of unnecessary policy cost.

Keywords: food inspection measures; real choice experiment; consumer preferences; willingness to pay; consumer welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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