Panagiotis Lazaridis

A theoretical and empirical investigation of nutritional label use

Due in part to increasing diet-related health problems caused, among others, by obesity, nutritional labelling has been considered important, mainly because it can provide consumers with information that can be used to make informed and healthier food choices. Several studies have focused on the empirical perspective of nutritional label use. None of these studies, however, have focused on developing a theoretical economic model that would adequately describe nutritional label use based on a utility theoretic framework. We attempt to fill this void by developing a simple theoretical model of nutritional label use, incorporating the time a consumer spends reading labels as part of the food choice process. The demand equations of the model are then empirically tested. Results suggest the significant role of several variables that flow directly from the model which, to our knowledge, have not been used in any previous empirical work.

An assessment of product class involvement in food‐purchasing behavior

Purpose – This paper sets out to investigate the factors affecting product class involvement for food. Factors affecting specific aspects of involvement are also to be explored. The aim is to determine the factors that affect involvement with food and sketch the profile of consumers more likely to be involved or not involved with food. This paper also seeks to assess the factors affecting the importance attached to different aspects of food such as taste, price, nutrition, ease of preparation, and brand name.Design/methodology/approach – Building on the literature a conceptual model is developed and empirically tested using survey data collected from supermarkets in Athens. Data were analyzed using probit and ordered probit analysis and marginal effects were calculated which show how much the level of involvement or importance is affected when a variable is changed.Findings – This study finds that younger consumers, those with higher education and income who engage in nutritional label use behavior and do...

Can nutritional label use influence body weight outcomes

Nutritional labeling has been of much interest to policy makers and health advocates due to rising obesity trends. So can nutritional label use really help reduce body weight outcomes? This study evaluates the impact of nutritional label use on body weight using the propensity score matching technique. We conducted a series of tests related to variable choice of the propensity score specification, quality of matching indicators, robustness checks, and sensitivity to unobserved heterogeneity using Rosenbaum bounds to validate our propensity score exercise. Our results generally suggest that nutritional label use does not affect body mass index. Implications of our findings are discussed.

Olive oil consumption in Greece: A microeconometric analysis

In this paper, the factors affecting at-home demand for three types of oils and fats in Greece, with emphasis on olive oil, are investigated using the linear approximation of the Almost Ideal Demand System and family budget survey data. To overcome the econometric problem created with the existence of zero expenditure, a generalization of the two-stage Heckman procedure is employed. In order to investigate the role of self-consumption, two different samples were used. The first includes all households; the second excludes those that acquire olive oil only from own production. According to the results, there are important differences in the first stage of the decision process between the two samples. Unlike the first stage, the second stage of the decision process found no important differences between the results for the two samples.

Demand elasticities derived from consistent estimation of Heckman-type models

As proved lately, the use of the Inverse Mills Ratio as a correction factor in the second step of Heckman-type models leads to inconsistent estimates. One area where this type of model has been extensively used is the applied food demand analysis. As a consequence the derived demand elasticities are no longer valid. In this paper the appropriate expressions for demand elasticities are derived and are applied to 23 food items using family budget survey data.

Decomposition of Food Expenditure Inequality: An Application of the Extended Gini Coefficient to Greek Micro-Data

The principal purpose of this paper is to examine theeffects of 16 food items on the overall foodexpenditure inequality in Greece using the raw data ofFamily Budget Surveys conducted during 1987/88 and1993/94. The method employed was the decomposition ofthe extended Gini coefficient. According to theresults, taxing expenditure on food consumed away fromhome and on alcoholic drinks will improve thedistribution of food expenditure equality and willincrease the progressivity of the tax system.Subsidising the other food items will have the samebut more modest effect.

Innovation Implementation Strategies for Consumer Driven Fruit Supply Chains

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify which innovation implementation strategies have the highest success potential, and which factors affect the adoption of fruit‐related innovations by consumers. The authors focus on consumer‐driven and responsive fruit supply chains.Design/methodology/approach – The authors propose a new conceptual framework that links fruit consumption to innovation implementation strategies. A total of 36 experts in four panels organised, respectively, in Spain, Poland, Greece, and The Netherlands evaluated the elements of the proposed framework.Findings – “Market orientation” and “continuous learning and knowledge acquisition” surfaced as the innovation implementation strategies with the highest success potential. However, the optimal mix of strategies depends on the particular innovation as well as the geographic and cultural characteristics of the targeted consumer population. Furthermore, improving technological competence is the single most important factor affectin...

Can Mediterranean diet really influence obesity? Evidence from propensity score matching.

Worldwide obesity rates have stimulated interest in healthy dietary patterns. One well-known dietary pattern is the Mediterranean diet, which has been linked with several beneficial health effects. However, concerns have also been raised regarding the Mediterranean diet’s role in promoting weight gain. We explored the effect of the Mediterranean diet on body mass index using the propensity score matching approach. We found no statistically significant average treatment effect on the treated and therefore cannot confirm that a causal link exists between Mediterranean diet and body mass index.

A model of nutrition information search with an application to food labels

Abstract Due to the dramatic rise of several diet-related chronic diseases, nutrition information search behaviours have received significant interest from both the scientific and non-scientific literature. No other known paper in economics, however, has examined from a theoretical perspective the acquisition of nutrition information as a health-enhancing activity. We modify the standard health capital model (Grossman 1972) to allow the time spent on nutrition information search to be considered within the context of a time allocation decision. We then collected extensive primary data based on the theoretical model and used these to test the model.

Determinants of demand for food in Greece: a microeconometric approach

In this paper, the factors affecting the demand for basic food categories by Greek households are investigated. For that purpose a selectivity model is employed to derive the necessary elasticities using information at household level. In addition, and for comparison purpose, a non-parametric model based on the decomposition of the extended Gini coefficient is used to calculate income elasticities.