Insulin affordability remains a significant challenge for many individuals with diabetes, creating interest in alternative production technologies that may reduce costs and expand supply. This study examines consumer acceptance of insulin produced via a gene-edited production system compared with insulin produced using conventional genetically modified microbial methods. A discrete choice experiment was administered to U.S. adults diagnosed with diabetes (n = 386), in which respondents evaluated insulin alternatives varying by production technology and out-of-pocket cost. A mixed logit model was used to estimate willingness to pay and assess preference heterogeneity. Results indicate that out-of-pocket cost was the primary factor influencing insulin choice, with respondents exhibiting strong sensitivity to out-of-pocket costs. On average, respondents expressed acceptance of gene-edited insulin, and relative perceived safety was positively associated with willingness to pay for the product. Additional analysis revealed substantial heterogeneity in consumer preferences across respondents. Collectively, these findings suggest that affordability plays a more influential role than perceived safety in shaping consumer acceptance of emerging biotechnology-based insulin production systems and provide insights for stakeholders considering future commercialization pathways for insulin.

A longstanding puzzle for regulatory theory and practice has been the valuation of children’s lives, or more precisely, the valuation of mortality risks faced by children. There are data about parents’ willingness to pay (WTP) to reduce such risks, and that data might be used to estimate the value per statistical life (VSL) for children. The problem is that any such VSL comes from the parents’ valuations; it might not adequately capture the welfare effects of risk reduction for children themselves. It can be shown, however, that use of parental WTP, and the resulting VSL, is justified on four assumptions: (1) parents have adequate information, (2) parents do not suffer from a relevant behavioral bias, (3) parents have a limited budget for expenditures on their children, and regulation would amount to a forced exchange, producing a dollar-for-dollar reduction from that budget, and (4) parents are sufficiently motivated to care about their children’s welfare, so that parental judgments about how to allocate limited resources for their children promote their children’s welfare. If we relax one or more of these assumptions, the appropriate VSL for children might be different from, and potentially higher than, the VSL that emerges from use of parental WTP. Implementing the proposed framework presents serious but tractable empirical challenges.

Vegetable rennet (VR) has a long history in Mediterranean cheese-making, and in response to the growing demand for vegetarian-friendly cheeses, enzymes extracted from the thistle Cynara humilis have become a promising substitute for calf rennet. This study investigated consumer acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for artisanal cheeses produced with thistle rennet in three Mediterranean countries: Italy, Spain and Tunisia. Sensory evaluations focused on feta cheese in all three countries, while queso de Murcia al vino was additionally tested in Italy and Spain. The research was conducted in three stages. First, focus groups explored consumers’ knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards thistle rennet. Second, hedonic tests were carried out under three conditions: blind liking (tasting without information), expected liking (only information, no tasting) and actual liking (tasting with information). Finally, an experimental auction was conducted for feta cheese to assess consumers’ WTP. In general, consumers showed positive perceptions of thistle-curdled cheeses, despite some cross-country differences. Both intrinsic factors (e.g., taste and fat content) and extrinsic cues (e.g., information, price and origin) influenced acceptance. Overall, results highlight the potential of VR for traditional cheeses, with specific emphasis on targeted marketing strategies and transparent labelling to support their adoption as high-value artisanal products.

This study expands agro-sociological research on public perceptions of biodegradable plastic mulch by addressing three questions posed to direct-market and indirect-market shoppers in northwest Washington: (1) What is their general knowledge of plastic mulching practices? (2) What are their perspectives on soil-biodegradable plastic mulch (BDM) fragments in agricultural fields? and (3) Do they prefer biodegradable options over non-biodegradable plastics in agriculture? Rapid market assessments (RMAs) and semi-structured interviews incorporating photo elicitation were conducted at a farmers’ market and a bargain-market grocery store in Bellingham, Washington. RMAs (n = 102; 51 per location) and semi-structured interviews (n = 14) captured variation between direct- and indirect-market shoppers. Overall, most direct- and indirect-market shoppers participating in the RMAs did not associate plastic use with growing produce or view it as essential to modern agriculture. Interview participants were generally aware of non-biodegradable polyethylene (PE) mulch but were unfamiliar with BDMs. Once they learned that BDMs are designed to break down in soil through microbial activity, they expressed a clear preference for them. Although RMA results indicated that participants prefer neat-looking fields, interviewees expressed greater willingness to purchase produce grown with BDMs rather than PE mulch. Additionally, shoppers participating in interviews expressed a willingness to pay a price premium for produce grown with BDMs. Interview discussions revealed that consumer education—through signage, labeling, or other outreach—is critical to building awareness and acceptance of soil-biodegradable alternatives in agriculture.

This study investigates how in-game virtual currencies influence consumer spending behaviour. In an incentivized randomized controlled trial with 753 UK participants, we estimate the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for loot boxes represented as risky and ambiguous lotteries. We test the effects of virtual currencies, money illusion, and cognitive-demanding (non-intuitive) exchange rates, three practices commonly used to sell loot boxes. Our results show that WTP is significantly higher when transactions are conducted in virtual currencies with a 1:1 exchange rate compared to British pounds, contributing to the debate on the neutrality of virtual currencies and experimental currency units. Moreover, participants in our study are affected by money illusion distortions, regardless of the exchange rate’s intuitiveness. However, we find no evidence that non-intuitive exchange rates affect participants’ WTP compared to intuitive exchange rates of comparable size. These findings highlight the behavioural distortions induced by common monetization practices in games and provide empirical support for the European Commission’s call for stricter regulation of virtual currencies in digital environments.

Tropical forests provide essential ecosystem services (ESs) that sustain local livelihoods, yet rural Amazonian communities – among those most dependent on these services – remain under-represented in empirical valuation studies, limiting the integration of local conservation values into policy design. This study addresses this gap by estimating the willingness to pay (WTP) for ES conservation and the relative economic effort (WTP/income ratio) in two rural communities of the Peruvian Amazon: San Joaquín de Omaguas and Santa Clara de Nanay. Using a dichotomous contingent valuation format, 481 households were surveyed in 2024, and WTP was estimated through logit models following National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) guidelines. The results indicate an average WTP of PEN 3.076 (USD 0.86) per month – equivalent to 0.50% of income – representing a higher relative effort than is typically reported in high-income countries and consistent with the lower bound of values observed in low-income settings. Education, household size and local origin increased WTP, whereas income showed a negative association. These findings align with international evidence showing that education and social-relational values rather than income are the key drivers of WTP in low-income contexts. Despite these efforts, aggregate local contributions would be insufficient to finance conservation actions. Therefore, context-sensitive financial mechanisms – such as community environmental funds, differentiated contribution schemes and external co-financing – are needed to ensure equity and sustainability. This study contributes original empirical evidence from low-income Amazonian communities and highlights the relevance of the WTP/income ratio as a comparative indicator to inform equitable and transparent conservation finance.

Although local food is widely promoted, consumers differ substantially in how they define what local means. Little is known about how this definitional heterogeneity relates to variation in estimated willingness-to-pay (WTP) premiums for local. This study examines heterogeneity in consumers’ WTP for local produce and meat, elicited under a common, prescribed 50-mile definition, and evaluates how these valuations vary across individuals’ personal definitions of local food, ranging from farm- and county-level scales to broader state and national scales. Using online survey data from 509 participants, primarily from the Mid-Atlantic region, we find weak evidence that WTP premiums generally decline as personal definitions broaden from farms to counties and states. More precisely, however, respondents selecting broader definitions do not fol` a strictly monotonic pattern: the two highest reported WTP premiums come from the smallest scale (farm-level) and the largest scale (national). Overall, the results demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in WTP for local food associated with personal definitions.

Energy-efficient biomass cookstoves and small solar systems play an important role in the transition to clean energy. Despite their affordability and scalability, uptake remains low among households in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper examines whether household-level behavioural factors help explain this under-adoption. Drawing on data from real-purchase offers in rural Rwanda and Senegal, we analyse how willingness to pay for the technologies varies with risk aversion, innovation resistance, time preferences and beliefs. These traits explain part of the variation in purchase decisions, though effects are generally moderate. The findings improve our understanding of consumer behaviour with regard to innovative consumer goods at the base of the pyramid and inform policy and market strategies of suppliers entering these markets. We conclude by recommending that behavioural approaches be applied conservatively and only in conjunction with efforts to improve affordability and access.

This study investigates consumer preferences for two emerging food waste reduction technologies – gene editing and all-natural spray coating – applied to apples. Using a discrete choice experiment with a nationally representative sample of U.S. consumers (n = 413), we estimate willingness to pay for gene-edited apples, spray-coated apples, and untreated apples. A generalized mixed logit model in willingness to pay space reveals that consumers exhibit the highest WTP for gene-edited apples ($2.45/lb), followed by spray-coated apples ($2.37/lb), with untreated apples valued least ($1.79/lb). Latent Class Analysis identifies three consumer segments: Price-Sensitive Skeptics, Sustainability-Oriented Consumers, and Selective Technology Adopters. Sustainability-Oriented Consumers showed the strongest support for both technologies, while Selective Technology Adopters displayed a clear preference for gene editing. Behavioral attitudes, rather than demographic variables, were the main drivers of segmentation. These findings suggest that tailored marketing strategies and policy interventions, including sustainability messaging, pricing incentives, and educational outreach, can support the adoption of food waste-reducing technologies. Overall, consumers are receptive to both gene-edited and spray-coated apples, though concerns about biotechnology and price sensitivity remain. Results offer insights for producers, retailers, and regulators aiming to enhance fresh produce sustainability and reduce food waste along the supply chain.

Recent studies suggest that citizens are unlikely to trade off free elections for other desirable outcomes, such as economic growth. However, while free elections are central to democracies, today democracy is not often undermined by abolishing elections. Our study shifts the focus to citizens' willingness to trade off the more granular democratic principles frequently eroded in backsliding processes – such as judicial independence, media freedom or horizontal accountability – for higher incomes. Through a seven‐country conjoint experiment, we analyse how citizens prioritize among these principles and estimate their ‘willingness to pay’ – or the additional income needed to persuade citizens to give these principles up. We find that while citizens do not relinquish free elections easily, they are more open to forgo liberal principles undermined in backsliding processes, especially when these principles are eroded gradually, one at a time. These findings help explain why democratic backsliding may be often tolerated by citizens.

This study estimates correlates of willingness-to-pay (WTP) for routine, elective, and urgent equine veterinary services in the United States. Through a nationwide online survey of US horse owners aged 18 and older, a payment card approach was utilized to elicit WTP for annual vaccinations, a lameness exam, and emergency colic surgery. Based on the results from an interval regression model, we found that financial capacity, income level, and the number of horses owned were significant predictors of WTP across all three service types. These findings have implications for equine veterinary practice management and client communication regarding treatment costs.

Consumers play an important role in regulating labor rights in global supply chains, either by punishing companies that violate labor rights or rewarding those that market fair labor practices. There is, however, currently limited understanding of how consumer demand can be effectively harnessed to protect freedom of association and collective bargaining (FACB) rights in garment-exporting countries. Through a series of conjoint experiments, we test the strength of consumer demand for FACB rights relative to other labor and environmental standards, and manipulate price and information frames to analyze the extent to which a business case exists to promote FACB rights. We find that consumers display willingness to pay premiums for various ethical labels around labor protections, indicating a business case for promoting ethical labor standards in supply chains. However, we also find that consumer demand for certain labor rights—including FACB rights and payment of a living wage—can diminish considerably in the context of price increases, thus limiting the profits firms might accrue by marketing labor rights protections. Our results open up the black box of consumer demand for different labor standards and evaluate the different modes through which consumers can influence labor protections in the global economy.

This paper considers the external validity of the growing corpus of literature that reports the use of laboratory auctions to reveal consumers’ willingness to pay for consumer goods, when the concerned goods are sold in retail stores through posted price procedures. The quality of the parallel between the field and the lab crucially depends on whether being informed of the actual field price influences a consumer's willingness to pay for a good or not. We show that the elasticity of the WTP revision according to the field price estimation error is significant, positive, and can be roughly approximate to one quarter of the error. We then discuss the normative implications of these results for future experiments aimed at eliciting private valuations through auctions.