IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/soceco/v88y2020ics2214804320300501.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is mental accounting of farm produce associated with more consumption of own-produced food?

Author

Listed:
  • Huang, Jiaqi
  • Antonides, Gerrit
  • Nie, Fengying

Abstract

This study examines whether mental accounting theory is applicable to consumption of own-produced food of smallholder farm households. We are motivated by the farm household's procedure of allocating own-produced food, and some evidence of inflexible use of own-produced food reserve. Using hypothetical scenarios of food reserve and consumption, we find that smallholder farm households show evidence of having a mental budget for own-produced food for self-consumption, tracking their consumption against the budget, and compensating for earlier over- or underconsumption. A substantial number of people used the reserve of their own produced food, exceeding their consumption needs, as their mental budget to guide their consumption, leading to an outcome of overconsumption of own produce. Furthermore, we explored factors of mental accounting and proposed policy implications of the study.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Jiaqi & Antonides, Gerrit & Nie, Fengying, 2020. "Is mental accounting of farm produce associated with more consumption of own-produced food?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:88:y:2020:i:c:s2214804320300501
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2020.101594
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214804320300501
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socec.2020.101594?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Milkman, Katherine L. & Beshears, John, 2009. "Mental accounting and small windfalls: Evidence from an online grocer," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 384-394, August.
    2. Nigel Key & Elisabeth Sadoulet & Alain De Janvry, 2000. "Transactions Costs and Agricultural Household Supply Response," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(2), pages 245-259.
    3. Jesse M. Shapiro, 2013. "Fungibility and Consumer Choice: Evidence from Commodity Price Shocks," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(4), pages 1449-1498.
    4. Justine Hastings & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2018. "How Are SNAP Benefits Spent? Evidence from a Retail Panel," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(12), pages 3493-3540, December.
    5. Unknown, 2004. "Effects Of Food Assistance And Nutrition Programs On Nutrition And Health: Volume 3, Literature Review," Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Reports 33863, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Albert Park, 2006. "Risk and Household Grain Management in Developing Countries," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(514), pages 1088-1115, October.
    7. Christopher B. Barrett & Paul A. Dorosh, 1996. "Farmers' Welfare and Changing Food Prices: Nonparametric Evidence from Rice in Madagascar," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(3), pages 656-669.
    8. Huang, Jiaqi & Antonides, Gerrit & Kuhlgatz, Christian H. & Nie, Fengying, 2018. "Mental accounting, production scale, and consumption of self-produced food: Empirical evidence from rural China," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 273986, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Richard H. Thaler, 2008. "Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(1), pages 15-25, 01-02.
    10. Just, David R. & Mancino, Lisa & Wansink, Brian, 2007. "Could Behavioral Economics Help Improve Diet Quality for Nutrition Assistance Program Participants?," Economic Research Report 6391, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    11. Per Pinstrup‐Andersen, 2007. "Agricultural research and policy for better health and nutrition in developing countries: a food systems approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(s1), pages 187-198, December.
    12. John A. List, 2003. "Does Market Experience Eliminate Market Anomalies?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 41-71.
    13. Richard H. Thaler, 2008. "Commentary—Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice: Anatomy of a Failure," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(1), pages 12-14, 01-02.
    14. Johannes Abeler & Felix Marklein, 2017. "Fungibility, Labels, and Consumption," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 99-127.
    15. Stephan J. Goetz, 1992. "A Selectivity Model of Household Food Marketing Behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 74(2), pages 444-452.
    16. Henderson, Pamela W. & Peterson, Robert A., 1992. "Mental accounting and categorization," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 92-117, February.
    17. Nicholas E. Piggott, 2003. "The Nested PIGLOG Model: An Application to U.S. Food Demand," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(1), pages 1-15.
    18. Shane Frederick, 2005. "Cognitive Reflection and Decision Making," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(4), pages 25-42, Fall.
    19. Heath, Chip & Soll, Jack B, 1996. "Mental Budgeting and Consumer Decisions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 23(1), pages 40-52, June.
    20. Sibhatu, Kibrom T. & Qaim, Matin, 2018. "Review: Meta-analysis of the association between production diversity, diets, and nutrition in smallholder farm households," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1-18.
    21. J. Taylor & Irma Adelman, 2003. "Agricultural Household Models: Genesis, Evolution, and Extensions," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 33-58, January.
    22. Stephan Muehlbacher & Erich Kirchler, 2013. "Mental Accounting of Self-Employed Taxpayers: On the Mental Segregation of the Net Income and the Tax Due," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 69(4), pages 412-438, December.
    23. Daniel J. Benjamin & Sebastian A. Brown & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2013. "Who Is ‘Behavioral’? Cognitive Ability And Anomalous Preferences," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(6), pages 1231-1255, December.
    24. Antonides, Gerrit & Manon de Groot, I. & Fred van Raaij, W., 2011. "Mental budgeting and the management of household finance," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 546-555, August.
    25. Rajagopal, Priyali & Rha, Jong-Youn, 2009. "The mental accounting of time," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 772-781, October.
    26. Thomas M. Fraker & Alberto P. Martini & James C. Ohls, 1995. "The Effect of Food Stamp Cashout on Food Expenditures: An Assessment of the Findings from Four Demonstrations," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30(4), pages 633-649.
    27. Parthasarathy Krishnamurthy & Sonja Prokopec, 2010. "Resisting That Triple-Chocolate Cake: Mental Budgets and Self-Control," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(1), pages 68-79, June.
    28. Kira M. Villa & Christopher B. Barrett & David R. Just, 2011. "Differential Nutritional Responses across Various Income Sources Among East African Pastoralists: Intrahousehold Effects, Missing Markets and Mental Accounting," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 20(2), pages 341-375, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zeng, Yangyi & Herzfeld, Thomas, 2021. "The effects of mental budgeting on the intentions to switch to low-toxicity pesticides: Evidence from vegetable farmers in Sichuan, China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(3).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Antonides, Gerrit & de Groot, I. Manon, 2022. "Mental budgeting of the self-employed without personnel," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. Silva, Emmanuel Marques & Moreira, Rafael de Lacerda & Bortolon, Patricia Maria, 2023. "Mental Accounting and decision making: a systematic literature review," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    3. Botond Kőszegi & Filip Matějka, 2020. "Choice Simplification: A Theory of Mental Budgeting and Naive Diversification [“Fungibility, Labels, and Consumption,”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 1153-1207.
    4. Bernard, René, 2022. "Mental Accounting and the Marginal Propensity to Consume," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264186, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Antonides, Gerrit & Manon de Groot, I. & Fred van Raaij, W., 2011. "Mental budgeting and the management of household finance," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 546-555, August.
    6. Zhang, C. Yiwei & Sussman, Abigail B. & Wang-Ly, Nathan & Lyu, Jennifer K., 2022. "How consumers budget," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 69-88.
    7. Wen Lin & David L Ortega & Vincenzina Caputo, 2023. "Experimental quantity, mental budgeting and food choice: a discrete choice experiment application," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(2), pages 457-496.
    8. Andersson, Henrik & Ouvrard, Benjamin, 2024. "Not on my plate! Using mental accounting to promote meat substitutes," TSE Working Papers 24-1547, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    9. Johannes Abeler & Felix Marklein, 2017. "Fungibility, Labels, and Consumption," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 99-127.
    10. Becker, Johannes & Hopp, Daniel & Kriebel, Michael, 2020. "Mental accounting of public funds – The flypaper effect in the lab," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 321-336.
    11. Bernard, René, 2023. "Mental accounting and the marginal propensity to consume," Discussion Papers 13/2023, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    12. Keenan, Michael & Karanja, Stanley & Pamuk, Haki & Ruben, Ruerd, 2021. "Smallholder Farming Households' Make-or-Buy Decisions: Linking Market Access, Production Risks, and Production Diversity to Dietary Diversity," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315349, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Edika G. Quispe-Torreblanca & Neil Stewart & John Gathergood & George Loewenstein, 2019. "The Red, the Black, and the Plastic: Paying Down Credit Card Debt for Hotels, Not Sofas," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(11), pages 5392-5410, November.
    14. Olsen, Jerome & Kasper, Matthias & Kogler, Christoph & Muehlbacher, Stephan & Kirchler, Erich, 2019. "Mental accounting of income tax and value added tax among self-employed business owners," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 125-139.
    15. Qiao Liu & Qiaowei Shen & Zhenghua Li & Shu Chen, 2021. "Stimulating Consumption at Low Budget: Evidence from a Large-Scale Policy Experiment Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(12), pages 7291-7307, December.
    16. Batiz-Lazo, Bernardo & Maixe-Altes, J Carles & Peon, David, 2023. "Behavioral drivers of cashless payments in Africa," MPRA Paper 117984, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Christiaensen , Luc & Pan, Lei, 2012. "On the fungibility of spending and earnings -- evidence from rural China and Tanzania," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6298, The World Bank.
    18. Getahun, Tigabu & Fetene, Gebeyehu, 2021. "The Nexus of Production Diversity, Market Participation and Dietary Diversity: Insights from Ethiopia," Discussion Papers 316382, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    19. Amasino, Dianna R. & Dolgin, Jack & Huettel, Scott A., 2023. "Eyes on the account size: Interactions between attention and budget in consumer choice," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    20. Ek, Claes, 2015. "Some Causes are More Equal than Others? Behavioral Spillovers in Charitable Giving," Working Papers 2015:29, Lund University, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mental accounting; Food consumption; Own-produced food; Smallholder farm households;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:88:y:2020:i:c:s2214804320300501. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620175 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.