IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/gagfdp/169402.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Can Willingness-To-Pay Values be Manipulated? Evidences from an Experiment on Organic Food in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaohua, Yu
  • Binjian, Yan
  • Zhifeng, Gao

Abstract

Human behaviours are driven by two different types of motives: implicit and explicit motives. Psychologists have developed two main tools, namely time pressure and cognitive load, to disentangle the two motives. It implies that the values of willingness to pay (WTP) are sensitive to time pressure and cognitive load levels in practice. An experiment with 233 students is conducted in China to study the willingness to pay for organic food with consideration of different time pressures and cognitive load levels. Results show that (1) increasing cognitive load could significantly reduce consumers’ WTP for organic food; and (2) time pressure does not have significant impact on WTP values. Such results remind us of being particularly cautious about the cognitive load situations of respondents during a WTP survey. Otherwise, the WTP results are unstable and inconvincible.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaohua, Yu & Binjian, Yan & Zhifeng, Gao, 2014. "Can Willingness-To-Pay Values be Manipulated? Evidences from an Experiment on Organic Food in China," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 169402, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:gagfdp:169402
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.169402
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/169402/files/GlobalFood_DP36.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.169402?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xiaohua Yu & David Abler, 2009. "The Demand for Food Quality in Rural China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(1), pages 57-69.
    2. Xu Tian & Xiaohua Yu, 2013. "The Demand for Nutrients in China," Frontiers of Economics in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities, Higher Education Press, vol. 8(2), pages 186-206, June.
    3. Daniel Kahneman, 2003. "Maps of Bounded Rationality: Psychology for Behavioral Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(5), pages 1449-1475, December.
    4. Raymond J. G. M. Florax & Chiara M. Travisi & Peter Nijkamp, 2005. "A meta-analysis of the willingness to pay for reductions in pesticide risk exposure," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 32(4), pages 441-467, December.
    5. Achtziger, Anja & Alós-Ferrer, Carlos & Wagner, Alexander K., 2018. "Social preferences and self-control," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 161-166.
    6. Zhifeng Gao & Lisa O. House & Xiaohua Yu, 2010. "Using choice experiments to estimate consumer valuation: the role of experimental design and attribute information loads," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(6), pages 555-565, November.
    7. Xiaohua Yu, 2012. "Productivity, efficiency and structural problems in Chinese dairy farms," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(2), pages 168-175, May.
    8. Yu, Xiaohua & Abler, David, 2010. "Incorporating zero and missing responses into CVM with open-ended bidding: willingness to pay for blue skies in Beijing," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(5), pages 535-556, October.
    9. Weiping Chen, 2013. "The effects of different types of trust on consumer perceptions of food safety," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(1), pages 43-65, January.
    10. Lusk, Jayson L. & Roosen, Jutta & Shogren, Jason (ed.), 2011. "The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Food Consumption and Policy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199569441.
    11. Yu, Xiaohua & Gao, Zhifeng, 2010. "Consumer Preferences for U.S. Beef Products: A Meta Analysis," 2010 Annual Meeting, July 25-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado 61033, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Gary D. Thompson, 1998. "Consumer Demand for Organic Foods: What We Know and What We Need to Know," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 80(5), pages 1113-1118.
    13. Depositario, Dinah Pura T. & Nayga Jr., Rodolfo M. & Wu, Ximing & Laude, Tiffany P., 2009. "Should students be used as subjects in experimental auctions?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 102(2), pages 122-124, February.
    14. Filippos Exadaktylos & Antonio M. Espin & Pablo Branas-Garza, 2012. "Experimental Subjects are Not Different," Working Papers 12-11, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    15. Peter A. Diamond & Jerry A. Hausman, 1994. "Contingent Valuation: Is Some Number Better than No Number?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 45-64, Fall.
    16. Richard C. Ready & Jean C. Buzby & Dayuan Hu, 1996. "Differences between Continuous and Discrete Contingent Value Estimates," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 72(3), pages 397-411.
    17. Gao, Zhifeng & Yu, Xiaohua & House, Lisa, 2009. "Using Choice Experiment to Estimate Consumer Valuation: the Role of Experiment Design and Attribute Information Loads," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49406, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    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. Xin Qi & Huaming Yu & Angelika Ploeger, 2020. "Exploring Influential Factors Including COVID-19 on Green Food Purchase Intentions and the Intention–Behaviour Gap: A Qualitative Study among Consumers in a Chinese Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Lijia Shi & Jing Xie & Zhifeng Gao, 2018. "The impact of deal†proneness on WTP estimates in incentive†aligned value elicitation methods," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(3), pages 353-362, May.
    3. Ortega, David L. & Wang, H. Holly & Wu, Laping & Hong, Soo Jeong, 2015. "Retail channel and consumer demand for food quality in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 359-366.
    4. Sangchoul Yi, 2019. "Willingness-to-Pay for Sustainable Aquaculture Products: Evidence from Korean Red Seabream Aquaculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-13, March.
    5. Zhou, De & Yu, Xiaohua & Herzfeld, Thomas, 2015. "Dynamic food demand in urban China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 27-44.
    6. Satoru Shimokawa & Dezhuang Hu & Dandan Li & Hong Cheng, 2021. "The urban–rural gap in the demand for food safety in China: The role of food label knowledge," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(2), pages 175-193, March.
    7. Cokou Patrice Kpadé & Edouard Roméo Mensah & Michel Fok & Jupiter Ndjeunga, 2017. "Cotton farmers’ willingness to pay for pest management services in northern Benin," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 48(1), pages 105-114, January.
    8. Shiwen Quan & Yinchu Zeng & Xiaohua Yu & Te Bao, 2018. "WTP for baby milk formula in China: Using attribute nonattendance as a priori information to select attributes in choice experiment," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 300-320, March.
    9. Wang, Erpeng & Gao, Zhifeng & Heng, Yan & Shi, Lijia, 2019. "Chinese consumers’ preferences for food quality test/measurement indicators and cues of milk powder: A case of Zhengzhou, China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

    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. Xiaohua Yu & Binjian Yan & Zhifeng Gao, 2014. "Can willingness-to-pay values be manipulated? Evidence from an organic food experiment in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(S1), pages 119-127, November.
    2. Yu, Xiaohua & Gao, Zhifeng & Zeng, Yinchu, 2014. "Willingness to pay for the “Green Food” in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 80-87.
    3. Kouser, Shahzad & Qaim, Matin, 2012. "Valuing financial, health and environmental benefits of Bt cotton in Pakistan," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126544, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Vijesh V. Krishna & Matin Qaim, 2008. "Consumer Attitudes toward GM Food and Pesticide Residues in India," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 30(2), pages 233-251.
    5. Tian, Xu & Sun, Feifei & Zhou, Yingheng, 2015. "Technical Efficiency and Its Determinants in China's Hog Production," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212718, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Tian, Xu & Yu, Xiaohua & Holst, Rainer, 2011. "Applying the payment card approach to estimate the WTP for green food in China," IAMO Forum 2011: Will the "BRICs Decade" Continue? – Prospects for Trade and Growth 23, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO).
    7. Yu, Xiaohua & Abler, David, 2014. "Where have all the pigs gone? Inconsistencies in pork statistics in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 469-484.
    8. Rodríguez, Elsa Mirta M. & Lacaze, María Victoria & Lupín, Beatriz, 2007. "Willingness to pay for organic food in Argentina: evidence from a consumer survey," Nülan. Deposited Documents 1300, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    9. Irz, Xavier & Mazzocchi, Mario & Réquillart, Vincent & Soler, Louis-Georges, 2015. "Research in Food Economics: past trends and new challenges," Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, Editions NecPlus, vol. 96(01), pages 187-237, March.
    10. Powe, N. A. & Bateman, I. J., 2003. "Ordering effects in nested 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' contingent valuation designs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 255-270, June.
    11. Figini, Paolo & Castellani, Massimiliano & Vici, Laura, 2007. "Estimating Tourist Externalities on Residents: A Choice Modeling Approach to the Case of Rimini," Sustainability Indicators and Environmental Valuation Working Papers 9104, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    12. Yuquan Chen & Xiaohua Yu, 2022. "Estimating market power for the Chinese fluid milk market with imported products," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(2), pages 386-401, April.
    13. Mankaï, Selim & Marchand, Sébastien & Le, Ngoc Ha, 2024. "Valuing insurance against small probability risks: A meta-analysis," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    14. Santos, Andreia C. & Roberts, Jennifer A. & Barreto, Mauricio L. & Cairncross, Sandy, 2011. "Demand for sanitation in Salvador, Brazil: A hybrid choice approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(8), pages 1325-1332, April.
    15. Pascucci, Stefano & Cicatiello, Clara & Franco, Silvio & Pancino, Barbara & Davide, Marino, 2011. "Back to the Future? Understanding Change in Food Habits of Farmers' Market Customers," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 14(4), pages 1-22, November.
    16. De Zhou & Xiaohua Yu & Thomas Herzfeld, 2015. "Dynamic food demand in urban China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(1), pages 27-44, February.
    17. De Zhou & Xiaohua Yu, 2015. "Calorie Elasticities with Income Dynamics: Evidence from the Literature," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 37(4), pages 575-601.
    18. Zhou, De & Yu, Xiaohua & Abler, David & Chen, Danhong, 2020. "Projecting meat and cereals demand for China based on a meta-analysis of income elasticities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    19. Jing You, 2014. "Dietary change, nutrient transition and food security in fast-growing China," Chapters, in: Raghbendra Jha & Raghav Gaiha & Anil B. Deolalikar (ed.), Handbook on Food, chapter 9, pages 204-245, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Mandy Ryan & Verity Watson, 2009. "Comparing welfare estimates from payment card contingent valuation and discrete choice experiments," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(4), pages 389-401, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agribusiness; Consumer/Household Economics; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Marketing; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ags:gagfdp:169402. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iagoede.html .

    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.