Are consumers concerned about palm oil? Evidence from a lab experiment
Journal article: A lab experiment evaluates the consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for food products made with and without palm oil. Palm oil production induces environmental damages, and its consumption presents a health risk. However, the production of alternative oils raises land use issues. In the experiment, successive messages emphasizing the characteristics of palm oil and palm oil-free products are delivered to participants. Information has a significant influence on WTP when it underlines the negative impact of the related product. This effect is stronger for the palm oil product than for the palm oil-free product. The experiment also compares the welfare effects of two regulatory instruments, namely a consumer information campaign versus a per-unit tax. Because of the respective attributes of both palm oil and palm oil-free products, the information campaign improves welfare with a much larger impact than the tax.
Author(s)
Anne-Célia Disdier, Stephan Marette, Guy Millet
Journal
- Food Policy
Date of publication
- 2013
Keywords
- Willingness to pay
- Palm oil
- Experimental economics
- Consumer information campaign
- Réaction des consommateurs
- Controverse autour de l’huile de palme
- Expérience en laboratoire
- Huiles et usage des sols
- Per-unit tax
Pages
- 180-189
URL of the HAL notice
Version
- 1
Volume
- 43