Catherine Halbrendt

Rural Chinese Food Consumption: The Case of Guangdong

Chinese consumer behavior is analyzed based on rural Guangdong household survey data. For most food items, own-price elasticities estimated with an AIDS model are inelastic. Commodity substitution due to relative price changes is small, except in the case of grain. Commodities most responsive to expenditure changes are meats, poultry, fruits, sweets, and durable goods.

Marketing Problems and Opportunities in Mid-Atlantic Seafood Retailing

Per capita seafood consumption in the United States increased steadily from 10.3 pounds in 1960 to 16.1 pounds in 1987 but has been lower than 16.1 pounds since 1987 (National Marine Fisheries Service). The seafood industry is facing a host of challenges, such as strong competition from less expensive imports and increasing consumer concerns about the safety of seafood. In 1993 more than half of all seafood

Chinese Consumer Demand for Animal Products and Implications for U.S. Pork and Poultry Exports

This paper examines Chinese consumer preference for major animal products and assesses the potential impacts of a reduction in Chinas import tariff on its pork and poultry demand and net import. Our analysis suggests that Chinas demand for animal products will continue to grow as income increases. Using a trade model, results of our scenario analysis indicate that a reduction in Chinas import tariffs will significantly increase its net pork and poultry imports and the U.S. will capture most of the increases. Nevertheless, the impact on the market price in China and the U.S. is likely to be very small.

Willingness to pay for rBST-free milk: a two-limit Tobit model analysis

The labelling of dairy products containing milk from rBST-treated cows has rapidly emerged as an important issue in the US due to the controversy between state and federal legislation and between consumer and industrial groups. This paper evaluates consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for rBST-free milk using data collected from a consumer survey. Estimation results of a two-limit Tobit model suggest that a majority of consumers are willing to pay a premium for rBST-free milk and the WTP is affected by several sociodemographic factors such as income and attitudes toward the use of rBST.

A Policy Analysis of China's Wheat Economy

This paper examines the impacts of Chinas historical and anticipated future reforms on its domestic wheat economy and how it affects the import demand for wheat using a stochastic coefficient regression method. The results strongly support the hypothesis that producers and consumers in the post-reform era were responsive to a less controlled economy. Furthermore, the higher import forecasts indicate that China will interact more with the world wheat market.

A Non-Nested Test of the AIDS vs. The Translog Demand System

Abstract A non-nested test is used to examine the relative explanatory power of the AIDS and translog demand system. Empirical results based on Chinese urban household data suggest that these two demand systems are not significantly different in explanatory power and elasticity estimates.

Impact of education on the attitudes of college students toward biotechnology

An interdisciplinary course was designed as an introduction to the applications of, and the socio-economic issues associated with, biotechnology. College students enrolled in the course were surveyed prior to the first formal lecture, and again upon completion of the course. Assessment was made of the impact of the educational materials on the attitudes and perceptions of the students toward the applications of biotechnology to agriculture. Data were collected for the first three semesters in which the course was offered. Answers to survey questions were analyzed on a before and after basis. It was found that students were very accepting of biotechnology prior to taking the course, despite a generally low level of exposure to this type of technology. The course was effective in increasing the knowledge base of the students, but not as effective in allaying their perceptions of risks associated with biotechnology.

Willingness to pay for pST-treated pork

The progress in porcine somatotropin (pST) application justified an assessment of consumer acceptance of pST-treated pork. A survey of the Atlanta metropolitan area, USA, collected information about consumer attitudes toward lean pork produced with biotechnologically developed pST. A qualitative dependent variable model was used to identify socioeconomic consumer characteristics influencing the willingness to pay for lean pork. The model was modified to account for the selectivity bias of the sample data. Results indicate that frequent pork consumers were willing to pay more for lean pork produced using pST in contrast to respondents who frequently ate beef, were older, and had relatively high income. Probabilities associated with the willingness to pay a specific premium were calculated. In general, the average respondent was willing to pay an additional 18¢ per kg of lean pork produced using pST.

The Community-Business Matching Project: New Tools for Rural Development

ABSTRACT Sound rural development strategies must consider the delicate tradeoffs necessary between economic, environmental, and social goals or run the risk of unintended long-term effects, such as sprawl at the expense of the environment. This paper introduces Community-Business Matching, a step toward the creation of a more holistic methodology for identifying appropriate economic development opportunities for rural communities and small towns. This paper presents the CBM framework and describes its application in a pilot case, where a small preservation land trust used CBM to identify development opportunities that would help them ensure the long-term preservation of three historic barns. The pilot study found, contrary to the land trusts expectations, that wood products would be more promising businesses for the site than traditional agricultural firms.

Impacts of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact on the WIC Program: Evidence from Boston and Hartford

This paper examines the impacts of the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact (Compact) on the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program using an autoregressive-moving average (ARMA) model and data from Boston and Hartford. While the results for Boston indicate that the difference between the net fluid milk price paid by WIC program and the forecasted fluid milk price with no Compact in effect was not significant over the period of July 1997 to June 1998, the results for Hartford suggest that the net price paid by WIC was significantly greater than the forecasted price with no Compact in effect over the same period. A similar analysis of the changes in markups suggests that the increase in the net fluid milk price paid by the WIC program in Hartford was largely due to increased markups.