Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
本地因素是否至关重要？——关于加拿大消费者对农产品偏好的实验研究
Is local all that matters?: An experiment on Canadian consumers’ preferences for produce
摘要
Controlled environment agriculture is important in regions where traditional farming is constrained by short growing seasons. Of particular relevance, vertical farming is an innovative agricultural technology that enables year‐round production in Canada. However, Canadian consumers’ preferences for vertically farmed products remain a knowledge gap. This study investigates how nudges and local food labelling change market outcomes for identical food produced using different production methods. In a pre‐registered field experiment, 610 Canadian consumers bid on vertically farmed, greenhouse grown, and field grown lettuce, each further differentiated by local and non‐local labels, using the Becker‐DeGroot‐Marschak (BDM) mechanism. Nudges highlighting the benefits of vertical farming were randomized between‐subject at the individual level. Results show that consumers are willing to pay a significant premium for local lettuce, regardless of the production method. Although consumers respond positively to nudges, local labelling is by far the largest contributor to willingness‐to‐pay premium. This study underscores the importance of advancing innovative food production technologies to enhance the availability of locally grown food year‐round.
中文摘要
受控环境农业在传统农业受限于短生长季的地区具有重要意义。其中，垂直农业作为一种创新农业技术，能够在加拿大实现全年生产。然而，加拿大消费者对垂直农产品的偏好仍存在认知空白。本研究探讨了助推措施和本地食品标签如何改变采用不同生产方式生产的相同食品的市场结果。在一项预先注册的实地实验中，610名加拿大消费者使用Becker-DeGroot-Marschak（BDM）机制，对垂直农场种植、温室种植和田间种植的生菜进行竞价，每种生菜进一步按本地和非本地标签进行区分。强调垂直农业益处的助推措施在个体层面进行了受试者间随机分配。结果表明，无论生产方式如何，消费者都愿意为本地生菜支付显著溢价。尽管消费者对助推措施反应积极，但本地标签是支付意愿溢价的最大贡献因素。本研究强调了推进创新食品生产技术以增强全年本地食品供应的重要性。