A relative increase in demand for quality can have one of two potentially countervailing effects: it can cause substitution of one quality for another and/or it might expand overall demand by bringing new consumers into the market. This article investigates demand expansion and substitution...

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...

We compare the ability of three preference elicitation methods (hypothetical choices, non-hypothetical choices, and non-hypothetical rankings) and three discrete-choice econometric models (the multinomial logit, the independent availability logit, and the random parameter logit) to predict...

Economists typically assume that more choice is better, and consumers are more likely to purchase from a larger choice set. However, marketing and psychological studies show this is not always the case. This paper reports results from experiments designed to further investigate the so-called...

Consumer demand for a ban on subtherapeutic antibiotic use in pork production is measured using non-hypothetical choice experiments in a grocery store setting. Consumers are asked to choose between a regular pork chop plus a grocery coupon and an antibiotic-friendly pork chop without a coupon....

This article highlights some key areas where economics can contribute to the current debate about animal welfare. Production economics reveals that producers will not maximize animal welfare, even if animal well-being is highly correlated with output. Welfare economics raises thorny issues about...

It is now fashionable in many circles to advocate vegetarianism, and many activist groups are vocal in their aim to convert the human race to vegetarians. What would be the economic costs and benefits of a shift away from meat consumption? In this article we provide some partial answers to this...