Are Mercury Advisories Effective? Inofrmation, Education, and Fish Consumption

Jay Shimshack
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Michael B. Ward

No 423, Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University from Department of Economics, Tufts University

Abstract: Mercury exposure has emerged as one of the most prominent environmental health and food safety concerns. The primary danger is the consumption of contaminated fish by young children, nursing mothers, and pregnant women. To mitigate the risks, in January 2001 the FDA issued a national advisory urging at-risk consumers to limit fish consumption. Did the FDA advisory reduce mercury exposure to at-risk groups? We find that consumers most likely to be aware of and understand the advisory did significantly reduce fish consumption relative to a control group. Both education and newspaper readership are important determinants of consumption response among at-risk groups, suggesting that information acquisition and assimilation are key factors for risk avoidance. Some newspapers readers not specifically targeted by the advisory also responded. Disturbingly, we do not find a response to the mercury advisory among the relatively large group of at-risk households which met neither the education nor readership criteria.

Keywords: Consumer Economics; Empirical; Analysis; Government; Policy; Regulation; Public; Health; Water; Pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 I18 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env
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Working Paper: Are Mercury Advisories Effective? Information, Education, and Fish Consumption (2005)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tuf:tuftec:0423

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