Accounting For Heterogeneity In Behavioral Responses To Health-Risk Information Treatments

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
John Whitehead Ph.D., Professor & Department Chair (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/

Abstract: Traditional revealed and stated preference models consider a typical individual's behavioural responses to various policy-based information treatments. For some cost–benefit applications in which resource managers are concerned with responses from a representative individual, this is sufficient. However, as behavioural responses to information treatments can vary across respondents, we develop a latent class analysis with covariates to examine unobservedheterogeneity responses to health-risk information treatments. Results from a probabilistic model indicate that classes of consumers respond differently to the health-risk information treatments. Principally, we find that the media form of the information treatment is important, with raw consumer groups typically more responsive to a brochure information treatment, while cooked oyster consumers are more responsive to the same information in a video format. We also find that a proposed US Food and Drug Administration policy on processing all raw oysters before market has a greater effect on reducing demand for consumers of cooked oysters. However, with an associated price premium, all consumer classes reduce demand. Overall, the results suggest that future policy-based research could benefit from examining potential heterogeneity in individuals’ responses to risk information treatments in order to fully understand the efficacy of treatments on behaviour.

Additional Information

Publication
Morgan, O. A., et al. (2016). "Accounting for heterogeneity in behavioural responses to health-risk information treatments." Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy 5(3): 283-297. https://doi.org/10.1080/21606544.2015.1115747. Publisher version of record available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21606544.2015.1115747
Language: English
Date: 2015
Keywords
Revealed and stated preference, health-risk information treatments, oyster consumers, latent class analysis

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