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University Students’ Purchase Intention and Willingness to Pay for Carbon-Labeled Food Products: A Purchase Decision-Making Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Rui Zhao

    (Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China)

  • Meng Yang

    (Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China)

  • Jianxiao Liu

    (Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China)

  • Linchuan Yang

    (Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China)

  • Zhikang Bao

    (Department of Real Estate and Construction, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Xinyun Ren

    (Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China)

Abstract

Carbon labeling describes carbon dioxide emissions across food lifecycles, contributing to enhancing consumers’ low-carbon awareness and promoting low-carbon consumption behaviors. In a departure from the existing literature on carbon labeling that heavily relies on interviews or questionnaire surveys, this study forms a hybrid of an auction experiment and a consumption experiment to observe university students’ purchase intention and willingness to pay for a carbon-labeled food product. In this study, students from a university in a city (Chengdu) of China, the largest carbon emitter, are taken as the experimental group, and cow’s milk is selected as the experimental food product. The main findings of this study are summarized as follows: (1) the purchase of carbon-labeled milk products is primarily influenced by price; (2) the willingness to pay for carbon-labeled milk products primarily depends on the premium; and (3) the students are willing to accept a maximum price premium of 3.2%. This study further offers suggestions to promote the formation of China’s carbon product-labeling system and the marketization of carbon-labeled products and consequently facilitate low-carbon consumption in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Rui Zhao & Meng Yang & Jianxiao Liu & Linchuan Yang & Zhikang Bao & Xinyun Ren, 2020. "University Students’ Purchase Intention and Willingness to Pay for Carbon-Labeled Food Products: A Purchase Decision-Making Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:19:p:7026-:d:419725
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jingyang Duan & Mingyang Zhang & Baodong Cheng, 2023. "Study on Consumers’ Purchase Intentions for Carbon-Labeled Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
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    3. Beixun Huang & Haijun Li & Zeying Huang & Jiazhang Huang & Junmao Sun, 2022. "Sustainable Healthy Diets and Demand for the Front-of-Package Labeling: Evidence from Consumption of Fresh Pork," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Rui Zhao & Xinyun Ren & Yan Liu & Yujun Li & Ruyin Long, 2022. "Different Educational Interventions on Individual Cognition of Garbage Classification Based on EEG Monitoring," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Yang, Mengqi & Lin, Boqiang, 2024. "Has there been a change in Chinese consumers’ willingness to pay for carbon labels?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).

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