Dissertation
MARKETS FOR ENERGY AND LOCAL FOOD
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2017
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000003368
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/111644
Abstract
This dissertation investigates consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for renewable energy and local food in three separate papers. The first paper analyzes the results of a survey conducted in major Korean cities to estimate consumer preferences for second-generation lignocellulosic bioethanol. I use information treatments on positive effects of this type of advanced fuel on the environment, food prices, and fuel supply security and compare results with a group of respondents who don’t receive any information. Using a double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation methodology, I find that consumers in Korea are willing to pay a premium over second-generation bioethanol compared to conventional fuel and that the mean premium is highest in the group treated with positive environmental information. The second paper focuses on comparative analysis of consumer preferences for second-generation ethanol in Korea and the United States. I estimate WTP for the product in the combined sample and separately for each country, and find that the mean premium for the second-generation ethanol was higher in the U.S. than in Korea. The results also suggest that attitudinal and demographic variables have unidirectional marginal effects on WTP in the two countries, while the magnitudes differ. Compared to the U.S. sample, the consumers from Korea were less responsive to positive information treatment. In the third paper, I analyze data from field experiments on various aspects of consumer demand for oysters to estimate WTP for locally harvested oysters in two distinct groups of respondents - local residents of Delaware and tourists. I find that consumers in both samples are less likely to purchase oysters if they are offered oysters of non-local origin and that their WTP for local oysters is higher than for oysters harvested more than 100 miles away. The price of the product, as expected, has a significant negative effect on the decision to purchase oysters, while the frequency of oyster consumption increases the likelihood of making a purchase. These papers provide new insights on how information treatments and consumer differentiation elicit consumer preferences for renewable energy and local food in new and established markets.
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Details
- Title
- MARKETS FOR ENERGY AND LOCAL FOOD
- Creators
- Alisher Mamadzhanov
- Contributors
- Jill J McCluskey (Advisor)Ana Espinola-Arredondo (Advisor)Alan H Love (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of Economic Sciences
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 118
- Identifiers
- 99900581823701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation