The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices

This paper analyzes price differentials among conventional, cage-free, organic, andOmega-3 eggs using retail scanner data from two regional markets and the United Statesas a whole. Results reveal significant premiums attributable to cage-free (a 57% premiumon average) and organic (an 85% premium on average). However, significant variationexists among geographic locations; price premiums for organic over conventional eggs inDallas are almost twice as high as those in San Francisco. Estimates indicate that about42% of the typically observed premium for cage-free eggs over conventional eggs (and36% of the premium for organic eggs) can be attributed to egg color rather than differencesin hens’ living conditions. Despite the large implicit price premiums for cage-freeand organic, our data reveal that most shoppers are not willing to pay such high prices forcage-free and organic attributes.