Consumer Choices and Motives for Eco-Labeled Products in China: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Choice Experiment

Qing Liu, Zhen Yan () and Jiehong Zhou ()
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Qing Liu: China Academy for Rural Development (CARD), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-12

Abstract: Based on choice experiments conducted via face-to-face interviews with 435 participants in four provincial areas of China (Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong), Chinese consumers’ preferences and motives for purchasing eco-labeled rice are examined in this study. The heterogeneous effects of each motivating channel are also investigated. The results reveal positive correlations between premiums for eco-labeled rice and consumers’ concerns about food safety and the environment, suggesting that health benefits and environmental considerations are the two critical motivations. The willingness to pay for eco-labeled rice does not increase with consumers’ knowledge of the different production standards indicated by each eco-label. Individual characteristics that determine each class are further explored through a seemingly irrelevant regression to identify the target group of consumers for policy-makers.

Keywords: eco-labeling; eco-environmental concerns; food safety; choice experiment; latent class model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

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