Consumer Willingness‐to‐Pay for Genetically Modified Potatoes in Ireland: An Experimental Auction Approach

Fiona Thorne, John Fox, Ewen Mullins and Michael Wallace

Agribusiness, 2017, vol. 33, issue 1, 43-55

Abstract: ABSTRACT It is recognized that many consumers are skeptical about genetically modified (GM) foods. Yet less is known about the extent to which consumers may purchase GM food products given suitable price positioning and marketing information on nonprice attributes of the products. In this study, we examine consumer acceptance of GM late blight resistant potatoes in Ireland. Our analysis uses an experimental auction methodology that facilitates positive and negative bids to provide a more complete revelation of preferences. Results show that a majority of participants preferred conventional potatoes to GM potatoes. Favorable information about GM increased subjects’ valuations of GM potatoes. After being informed about potential economic and health benefits, up to two‐thirds of our subjects indicated that they would choose GM potatoes at a 20% price discount, while 14% of subjects would still reject GM potatoes at any price. Higher levels of education, greater familiarity with GM, and the presence of children in the household were associated with lower valuation of the GM product. [EconLit citations: C91; D12].

Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/agr.21477

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:agribz:v:33:y:2017:i:1:p:43-55

Access Statistics for this article

Agribusiness is currently edited by Ronald W. Cotterill

More articles in Agribusiness from John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().