Consequences of BSE on Consumers' Attitudes, Perceptions and Willingness to Pay for Certified Beef in Spain

The BSE crisis has increased consumers' concerns on beef safety. Product quality systems and controls have been reinforced. Traceability certification and quality labels have been developed to communicate consumers the safety characteristics of the labelled beef and recover consumption. As a consequence, production costs have increased, which have been ultimately transmitted to consumer prices. The objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual model able to analyse main factors influencing consumers' willingness-to-pay for certified beef. A three-equation recursive model is jointly estimated. Results indicate that income, level of beef consumption, the average price consumers paid for beef and beef safety perception are main determinants of Spanish consumers' willingness- to-pay for certified beef.