Choosing ‘buy none’ in food choice analysis: the role of utility balance

Stated choice analysis is now a widely used and accepted methodology for exploringfood choice. In stated choice experiments respondents are asked to make a choice betweentwo or more alternatives, one of which typically takes the form of a ‘buy none’option. It is widely recognised that respondents often perceive this option differentlyfrom the other alternatives and various reasons for this have been offered. Nevertheless,the role that utility balance among the experimentally designed options playson the propensity of respondent’s choosing ‘buy none’ has largely been overlooked.Using a non-linear representation of utility we show that the ‘buy none’ choices aresensitive to utility balance. We further show how accommodating this provides anadditional insight into choice behaviour and has a bearing on welfare calculations