Angela Mariani

Separate waste collection in Italy: the role of socio-cultural factors and targets set by law

Abstract The aim of this paper was twofold: on the one hand, we analyse the results achieved in terms of percentages of separate collection in Italy by testing the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in improving the separate collection process; and on the other hand, we investigate on some of the factors, related to the sociocultural local context, that could explain the different impacts of the law in the three macro-areas considered (North, Central and South Italy). To this purpose, an econometric analysis on the Italian regions for the 1996–2013 period is performed, comparing the period before (1996–2006) and after (2006–2013) the date of entry into force of the new law. The results show the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in promoting separate collection, although a regional difference in terms of separate collection rate is observed. Northern regions proved to be more dynamic and reactive to the above-mentioned legislation, while Central and especially Southern regions achieved poorer results in moving to higher separate waste collection rates. Finally, our work provides evidence on some local factors that may have hampered an effective policy implementation in Southern regions, among them, the presence of criminal activities and the lack of citizen participation in politics.

Do Consumers Want More Nutritional and Health Information on Wine Labels? Insights from the EU and USA

The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol launched in 2010 by the World Health Organization includes, amongst several areas of recommended actions, providing consumer information about, and labelling, alcoholic beverages to indicate alcohol-related harm. Labelling requirements worldwide for alcoholic drinks are currently quite diverse and somewhat limited compared to labelling on food products and on tobacco. In this context, the current paper contributes to the academic and political debate on the inclusion of nutritional and health information on wine labelling, providing some insights into consumer interest in, and preferences for, such information in four core wine-producing and -consuming countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the United States of America. A rating-based conjoint analysis was performed in order to ascertain consumer preferences for different formats of additional information on wine labels, and a segmentation of the sample was performed to determine the existence of homogeneous groups of consumers in relation to the degrees of usefulness attached to the nutritional and health information on wine labels. Our results highlight the interest expressed by European and United States consumers for introducing nutrition and health information on wine labels. However, the results of conjoint analysis show some significant differences among stated preferences of the information delivery modes in different countries. In addition, segmentation analysis reveal the existence of significant differences between consumer groups with respect to their interest in receiving additional information on wine labels. These differences are not only linked to the geographic origin of the consumers, or to socio-demographic variables, but are also related to wine consumption habits, attitudes towards nutritional information, and the degree of involvement with wine. This heterogeneity of consumer preferences indicates a need for a careful consideration of wine labelling regulations and merits further investigation in order to identify labelling guidelines in terms of the message content and presentation method to be used.

Health warnings on wine: a consumer perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ interest and preference for health warnings on wine label, and the key socio-demographic and attitudinal variables driving this interest. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered, by a professional marketing company, through an on line survey with a sample of 300 Italians, aged over 18, consuming wine at least once a month. Findings – Respondents were interested in receiving more information on nutritional and health features of wine through the label, and would also like to obtain information about the warnings about possible side effects related to excessive wine consumption. The most relevant variables influencing positive interest toward this information are gender (female), age (younger cohort), education level (higher), presence of children in the household and being the main responsible of grocery shopping. Research limitations/implications – The research was limited by being conducted only in Italy, using explorative methodol...

Consumer Understanding and Use of Health Claims: The Case of Functional Foods

As widely acknowledged functional foods (FFs) may contribute to improve human health due to the presence of specific components useful for their protective action against several diseases. However it is essential that consumers are able to comprehend and assess the properties of FFs health claims play a central role in helping consumers to select among food alternatives, beyond providing protection against unsupported or misleading statements about foods properties. At the same time health claims are the main marketing tool that the food industry could use to differentiate FFs from other products. Clearly, massive investments in research and development are necessary to enter the FF market segment, together with the possibility to protect innovation through patents. Current paper aims to examine factors influencing consumer understanding and use of food health claims on FFs, as well as providing several indications for developers, marketers and policy makers. After a brief review of the literature the results of a quantitative survey conducted online on 650 Italian consumers are presented. Results show that consumer use and understanding of health claims on FFs depend on different variables such as socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and confidence with nutrition information but also wording and variables related specifically to the product. Furthermore, different segments with a diverse degree of use and understanding of health claims have been identified. Therefore, to boost market growth, more efforts are needed by policy makers and marketers to provide better information on nutrition and health aspects of FF using an approach capable to ensure truthful, significant and clear information. Finally some recent patents related to the FFs market with specific regard to components and/or functionality investigated in the current paper are reviewed.

Institutional quality effects on separate waste collection: some evidence from Italian provinces

Separate waste collection in Italy comes under the responsibility of local authorities, provinces, while national laws set quantitative targets to be achieved over time. Overall, just a few provinces have reached the thresholds set by the latest law (Legislative Decree 152/2006) and some territorial differentiation has been detected. The aim of this paper is twofold: to verify the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in promoting higher levels of separate collection and to test whether institutional quality (considering the following indicators: voice and accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption) affects provinces’ efficiency in the separate collection process. For this purpose, we implement the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Results suggest that the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 has been affected by provinces’ institutional quality. In particular, the presence of institutional constraints did not allow the most virtuous provinces to achieve the targets set by law.

Urban Environmental Quality and Sustainable Food Sourcing: A Spatial Approach Using Italian Provincial Data

Environmental pollution affects human health and well-being, not only directly, but also indirectly due to its effects on food safety and urban and peri-urban agriculture. Proper indicators of urban environmental quality could improve the measurement of the health and well-being component of the Human Development Index. In this paper, by using the Legambiente Index and the Local Moran Transition Probability Matrix, we assess and compare the performance of Italian provinces’ in providing urban environmental quality. Results show a persistent dualism between Northern and Southern Italy and the absence of positive environmental spillover among neighboring provinces. In Southern Italy, policymakers should focus more on improving sustainable food sourcing for a more sustainable and resilient urban development.

Fairness and Alternative Food Networks in Italy

A fairer and sustainable distribution of added value and information along the food supply chain is becoming a relevant issue. Extensive literature has analyzed the development of distributions models, commonly called Alternative Food Networks (AFNs), that short-circuit the long, complex and rationally organized industrial chain, emphasizing their meanings in terms of economic, environmental and social sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to present some preliminary results from an on-going research that aims to investigate on rules and criteria for a fairer market. In particular we propose an analysis of AFNs in Italy, using Fair Trade as benchmark, according to their capacity to carry out fairer relationships between producers and consumers. AFNs evaluation, based on a qualitative analysis carried out looking for a representative sample of cases, has been done considering their results in terms of: distribution of value along the chain; price fairness and transparency; access to markets for small producers; compliance of products to social standards; relationships between consumers and producers (involvement, stability and trust). Three types of AFNs are discussed: Direct selling, Farmers’ Markets, Partnership between producers and consumers (in the form of Solidarity Purchasing Groups).

Crowdsourcing in Wine Business: Co-Creation and Fundraising Experiences

Thanks to the development of Web 2.0 tools and applications, crowdsourcing-based business models, in which the ‘crowd’ takes on a proactive role in the markets, being engaged in co-creation of value and in funding producers and their projects, are emerging worldwide. The aim of this chapter is to achieve a deeper understanding of the opportunities offered by crowdsourcing in wine business. Given both the novelty of the phenomenon and the exploratory nature of this research, a qualitative multiple-case study approach is used with the purpose of presenting cases of major interest as benchmarks. Overall, crowdsourcing is ideally suited as both a new approach to the radically changing consumer profile and as a source of funding for small entrepreneurs facing difficulties in accessing other forms of financing.

The role of nutritional labeling in promoting healthier food choices: a review of the major issues in the EU

As the widespread rapid growth of diet-related diseases becomes a major public concern, nutritional labeling is increasingly considered a potential tool to support the goal of changing unhealthy eating habits while retaining consumer freedom of choice. This paper aims to contribute to the institutional debate on the effectiveness of nutritional labeling on the back or front of packaging in promoting healthier food choices, focusing on the EU. The major issues detected and discussed are based on a literature review of recent studies that have examined the limits and potentials of such tools. Finally, we discuss other promising application fields of nutritional labeling, such as on alcoholic beverages and restaurant menus, and present some directions for further research.

Alcohol Warnings and Moderate Drinking Patterns among Italian University Students: An Exploratory Study

The introduction of health warnings on labels to correct externalities associated with alcohol consumption is heavily debated and has been explored from different perspectives. The current paper aims to analyse the interest and attitudes of Italian university students regarding health warnings on alcoholic beverages and to verify the existence of segments that differ in terms of attitudes towards such warnings. Our results show that young consumers consider health warnings quite important, although the degree of perceived utility differs in relation to the type of warning. Cluster analysis shows the existence of three groups of young consumers with different degrees of attention and perceived utility of warnings on alcoholic beverages, but also in relation to drinking behaviour and awareness of social and health risks related to alcohol consumption. In brief, Italian young adults with moderate consumption behaviour view label warnings positively, while this attitude is weaker among younger adults and those with riskier consumption behaviours. Our findings, albeit limited and based on stated and not revealed data, support the need for appropriate tools to improve the availability of information among young adults on the risks of excessive alcohol consumption and increased awareness of the importance of moderate drinking.