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The Taste for Variety: A Hedonic Analysis

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  • Drescher, Larissa S.
  • Thiele, Silke
  • Weiss, Christoph R.

Abstract

Based on the model of consumers' variety-seeking behavior introduced by Anderson et al. (1992), this paper derives a hedonic price function for a households' consumption bundle. The price a consumer pays for her consumption bundle reflects the values of the underlying attributes of goods purchased but also accounts for any preference for variety that she might have. The empirical analysis is conducted for 3,240 German households and their expenditure on 182 different soft drinks over a six-month period. We find that consumers have a preference for variety in food consumption, ceteris paribus. Furthermore, the per-unit price is found to be significantly larger for higher income households, as well as households where the principal wage earner has a high level of education. Larger households tend to spend less on soft drinks per unit.

Suggested Citation

  • Drescher, Larissa S. & Thiele, Silke & Weiss, Christoph R., 2006. "The Taste for Variety: A Hedonic Analysis," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25251, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:iaae06:25251
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.25251
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mousumi Das, 2014. "Measures, Spatial Profile and Determinants of Dietary Diversity: Evidence from India," Working Papers id:6273, eSocialSciences.
    3. Cheng, Guo & Dharmasena, Senarath & Capps, Oral, Jr., 2017. "The Taste for Variety: Demand Analysis for Nut Products in the United States," Reports 285248, Texas A&M University, Agribusiness, Food, and Consumer Economics Research Center.
    4. Thomas Ã…stebro & Kevyn Yong, 2016. "Invention Quality and Entrepreneurial Earnings: The Role of Prior Employment Variety," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(2), pages 381-400, March.
    5. Andreas Chai & Nicholas Rohde & Jacques Silber, 2015. "Measuring The Diversity Of Household Spending Patterns," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 423-440, July.
    6. Smed, Sinne & Hansen, Lars Garn, 2018. "Consumer Valuation of Health Attributes in Food," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 43(2), May.
    7. Leschewski, Andrea & Weatherspoon, Dave D. & Kuhns, Annemarie, 2016. "A Segmented Hedonic Analysis of the Nutritional Composition of Fruit Beverages," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1-22, August.
    8. Liu, Jing & Shively, Gerald & Binkley, James K., 2013. "Dietary Diversity in Urban and Rural China: An Endogenous Variety Approach," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149624, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Åstebro, Thomas & Thompson, Peter, 2011. "Entrepreneurs, Jacks of all trades or Hobos?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 637-649, June.
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    12. Feyza G. Sahinyazan & Marie‐Ève Rancourt & Vedat Verter, 2021. "Food Aid Modality Selection Problem," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(4), pages 965-983, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety;

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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