Robin A. Douthitt

A Model of Consumers' Risk Perceptions Toward Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rbGH): The Impact of Risk Characteristics

This study estimates the effect risk characteristics, described as outrage factors by Hadden, have on consumers risk perceptions toward the food-related biotechnology, recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH). The outrage factors applicable to milk from rbGH treated herds are involuntary risk exposure, unfamiliarity with the products production process, unnatural product characteristics, lack of trust in regulators ability to protect consumers in the marketplace, and consumers inability to distinguish milk from rbGH treated herds compared to milk from untreated herds. An empirical analysis of data from a national survey of household food shoppers reveals that outrage factors mediate risk perceptions. The results support the inclusion of outrage factors into the risk perception model for the rbGH product, as they add significantly to the explanatory power of the model and therefore reduce bias compared to a simpler model of attitudinal and demographic factors. The study indicates that outrage factors which have a significant impact on risk perceptions are the lack of trust in the FDA as a food-related information source, and perceiving no consumer benefits from farmers use of rbGH. Communication strategies to reduce consumer risk perceptions therefore could utilize agencies perceived as more trustworthy and emphasize the benefits of rbGH use to consumers.

The relationship between measures of subjective and economic well-being: A new look

The objective of this research is to examine the importance of variable specification in using economic variable to explain the variance in individuals perceived (1) overall psychological, (2) economic, and (3) non-economic well-being. Results indicate that careful specification of economic variables improves the explained variance of perceived subjective well-being. Specification of dependent variable, life satisfaction, based on a domain-specific scale, proves superior to using the response to the global satisfaction question, “How do you feel about life as a whole?’ Economic variables prove significant in explaining both perceived economic and non-economic domains of life satisfaction. Although its overall effect on life satisfaction is negative, increased family size is found to enhance non-economic life satisfaction, while detracting from economic aspects of life satisfaction.

Consumer Risk Perceptions Toward Agricultural Biotechnology, Self‐Protection, and Food Demand: The Case of Milk in the United States

This study is an econometric systems approach to modeling the factors and linkages affecting risk perceptions toward agricultural biotechnology, self-protection actions, and food demand. This model is applied to milk in the United States, but it can be adapted to other products as well as other categories of risk perceptions. The contribution of this formulation is the ability to examine how explanatory factors influence risk perceptions and whether they translate into behavior and ultimately what impact this has on aggregate markets. Haddens outrage factors on heightening risk perceptions are among the factors examined. In particular, the article examines the role of labeling as a means of permitting informed consent to mitigate outrage factors. The effects of attitudinal, economic, and demographic factors on risk perceptions are also explored, as well as the linkage between risk perceptions, consumer behavior, and food demand. Because risk perceptions and self-protection actions are categorical variables and demand is a continuous variable, the model is estimated as a two-stage mixed system with a covariance correction procedure suggested by Amemiya. The findings indicate that it is the availability of labeling, not the price difference, between that labeled milk and milk produced with recombinant bovine Somatotropin (rbST) that significantly affects consumers selection of rbST-free milk. The results indicate that greater availability of labeled milk would not only significantly increase the proportion of consumers who purchased labeled milk, its availability would also reduce the perception of risk associated with rbST, whether consumers purchase it or not. In other words, availability of rbST-free milk translates into lower risk perceptions toward milk produced with rbST.

The division of labor within the home: Have gender roles changed?

The purpose of this paper was to examine more recent time-use data regarding the division of labor in the home and compare those findings with that of previously reported data. A 1981 national sample of married Canadian men and womens time use was examined. Generalized least squares regression was employed to examine and predict time use by married men and women as a function of spouses labor force status, number of children, age of youngest child, and day of the week data were collected. As compared to previous studies, results indicate that over time married women have reduced the amount of time spent in meal preparation while increasing time spent with children. Men increased the amount of time spent in food preparation and child care, although their participation appeared limited primarily to weekend days and invariant to wifes labor force participation.

“Time to Do the Chores?” Factoring Home-Production Needs into Measures of Poverty

Currently, income is the only resource that the government uses to measure poverty. However, in order for a family to maintain an adequate standard of living, its members must have the money and the time to do certain kinds of work in the home, such as child care, food shopping, meal preparation, laundry, housecleaning, and other similar household tasks. In this article, poverty rates are recalculated using a method developed by Vickery (1977) in which time is incorporated as a resource. Findings show that poverty rates increase dramatically when time is incorporated as a resource because working parents, especially single parents, often do not have enough time to perform essential tasks. Data are from the 1985 American Time Use Survey.

The role of economic and demographic factors in explaining time-use of single and married mothers

The number of households headed by single mothers has been increasing in recent years. Yet, little is known about how this growing segment of the population differs, if at all, from married mothers in their time allocation patterns. In the study reported here, a system of time allocation equations based on household production theory is estimated for both married and single mothers. The results indicate that married and single mothers make different decisions about how to allocate their time to household production, child care, leisure, and paid work. Specifically, single and married mothers responded differently to a change in their shadow wage rates, unearned income, paid child care, and the ages of the children in each of the estimated equations.

An economic analysis of the demand for residential space heating fuel in Canada

The objectives of this study were the development and application of a model of residential space-heating demand, which incorporates economic, family-composition and structural housing factors as explanatory variables. We assess the impact of home retrofitting and other conservation actions on residential energy demand by analyzing data collected as part of a national sample of Canadian households, which are supplemented with rate-structure and energy-price data.

Children's Time Use in Single- and Two-Parent Families: Does Household Organization Matter?

This study examines whether living in a single- versus two-parent household influences the time children spend in home production, leisure, school, and paid work activities. A secondary data set containing time diary data for a sample of California children over age 5 was used. Results indicated that systematic differ ences do exist. Specifically, children living with two parents spend increasingly less time in home production activities as their family income rises. The home contributions of children of single parents were invariant to family income. Among both family types, girls spend more time in home production than do their male siblings. Single-parent children spend more time in paid work activi ties. This employment, along with increased home responsibilities, means that single-parent children enjoy less leisure time at an earlier age than their two- parent counterparts. Female children living with a single parent spend signifi cantly less time in school activities than either their male siblings or their two- parent counterparts.

The use of savings as a family resource management strategy to meet child rearing costs

This study examines the effect of children on family savings decisions over the life cycle. The model used is a multinomial logit budget share allocation model. The data are from the 1982 Canadian Family Expenditure Survey Data. Results indicate that the addition of a child to a family results in fewer assets being accumulated than if the child was not present. As much as 43% of direct child rearing costs may be met through this substitution out of future consumption. Closer analysis reveals that accrual of housing equity is relatively unaffected by childs presence and that substitutions occur primarily out of other types of savings instruments.

Mothers' Health Awareness and Its Impact on Children's Dairy Product Intakes.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mothers awareness of diet and disease relationships on childrens dairy product consumption. Using data from the 1994–1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and the 1994–1996 Diet and Health Knowledge Survey implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the study compared the difference in childrens low-fat milk and whole milk consumption in terms of the role of mothers health awareness. The analysis also considered mothers health characteristics and sociodemographic characteristics such as mothers education level and household income. The results suggested that mothers awareness of diet and health relationships increased their teen childrens dairy consumption, although mothers health awareness did not affect dairy product consumption for preschool children and primary school children.