Browsing by Author "Messer, Kent D."
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Item Achieving Cost Effective Conservation: ORES801 Case Studies of Applying Optimization To Protect Endangered Birds, Preserve Agricultural Lands, and Conserve Forested Lands.(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2009-07) Messer, Kent D.The three following case studies were developed as research projects of the ORES801 course entitled “Optimization: Models and Methods” taught by Dr. Kent Messer in the Fall of 2007 and 2008. The first case study by Allison Borchers evaluates the cost effectiveness of applying optimization techniques to protect the Red Cockaded Woodpecker at the Camp LeJeune Marine Base in North Carolina. The second case study by Anand Kalambur evaluates the use of optimization in the context of agricultural land protection in Cecil County, Maryland. Finally, the third case study by Stela Stefanova applies optimization to identify cost effective project funding for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Legacy program.Item Achieving Cost Effective Conservation: ORES801 Case Studies of Optimization Application to the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative.(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2011-04) Messer, Kent D.The following case studies were developed as research projects of the ORES801 course entitled “Optimization: Models and Methods” taught by Dr. Kent Messer at the University of Delaware in the Fall of 2010.Item Addressing Social Dilemmas with Mascots, Information and Graphics(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2018-01) Butler, Juliana M.; Fooks, Jacob R.; Messer, Kent D.; Palm-Forster, Leah H.Item Ag-E MINDSPACE Effect Size Table(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2019-03) Palm-Forster, Leah, H.; Ferraro, Paul J.; Janusch, Nicholas; Vossler, Christian A.; Messer, Kent D.In our recent paper in Environmental & Resource Economics, we recommend that authors report standardized effect sizes when reporting the results of experimental economics studies (Palm-Forster et al., forthcoming). Standardized effect sizes allow readers to compare the magnitudes of estimated treatment effects across different treatments and outcomes. Researchers can also use published effect sizes as priors when conducting ex-ante power analyses. We present a table of standardized effect sizes reported in experimental economics papers that analyze agri-environmental (Ag-E) issues (the table can be found at https://osf.io/cf259/). We use Dolan et al.’s (2012) MINDSPACE framework to classify behavioral nudges into nine categories, all of which can influence the behavior of agricultural producers: messengers, incentives, norms, defaults, salience, priming, affect, commitment, and ego. We refer readers to our paper for more information about this body of literature (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-019-00342-x). Our paper also describes key methodological challenges and recommendations for experimental agri-environmental research.Item Are consumers no longer willing to pay more for local foods? A field experiment(Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 2023-08-22) Davidson, Kelly A.; Khanal, Badri; Messer, Kent D.Government programs promoting locally produced foods have risen dramatically. But are these programs actually convincing consumers to pay more for locally produced food? Studies to date, which have mostly relied on hypothetical stated preference surveys, suggest that consumers will pay premiums for various local foods and that the premiums vary with the product and presence of any geographic identity. This study reports results from a large field experiment involving 1,050 adult consumers to reveal consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) premiums for “locally produced” foods – mushrooms and oysters. Despite strong statistical power, this study reveals no positive effect of the locally produced label on consumer WTP. These null results are contrary to most of the existing literature on this topic. The finding that consumers are not willing to pay more for local foods has important implications for state and federal agencies that promote labeling campaigns that seek to increase demand and generate premiums for locally produced foods.Item Auction versus Posted Price in Experiments: Comparisons of Mean and Marginal Effect(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2017-06) Wu, Shang; Fooks, Jacob; Li, Tongzhe; Messer, Kent D.; Delaney, DeborahEconomic experiments have been widely used to elicit individuals’ evaluation for various commodities and non-market goods. Common elicitation methods include auctions and posted price mechanisms. Experimental auctions are theoretically incentive compatible so are assumed to give an unbiased estimate of individuals’ evaluation including willingness to pay (WTP). However, the vast majority of purchasing decisions are not made in auctions but in market settings, such as grocery stores, where consumers make yes/no decisions in response to a set price. In this research, we carefully design an experiment to compare homegrown-value WTP estimates between an auction and a posted price elicitation format. This design enables us to make both within- and between-subjects comparisons of the mean WTP and marginal effect estimates. Results from 115 adult consumers indicate that WTP estimates obtained from an auction are approximately 32% - 39% smaller than WTP estimates obtained from a posted price mechanism. In addition, we compare the statistical significance and conclude that auctions require a smaller sample size than posted price mechanisms in order to detect the same preference change. Nevertheless, the signs of marginal effects for different product characteristics are consistent in both mechanisms.Item Back to the Source: Consumer Behavior in Response to Different Sources of Recycled Irrigation Water(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2022-06-12) Messer, Kent D.; Ellis, Sean F.; Kecinski, Maik; Ganguly, DiyaUsing recycled water to irrigate agricultural products can be an effective solution to water scarcity. However, a better understanding of how society evaluates different sources of recycled water provides insights into potential demand-side barriers to adoption of these solutions. This paper implements a field economic experiment conducted in the Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States that evaluates consumers’ willingness-to-pay for three sources of recycled irrigation water: “gray”, “black”, and “produced”. Our analysis indicates that people consider certain sources of recycled water more acceptable for irrigating produce than others. Recycled gray water is preferred to recycled-produced water, and both are preferred to recycled black water. We also explore how adult consumers respond to scientific information about the benefits and risks of using recycled irrigation water, and find that it does not mitigate consumers’ concerns.Item Behavioral and experimental agri-environmental research: methodological challenges, literature gaps, and recommendations(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2019-12) Palm-Forster, Leah; Ferraro, Paul J.; Janusch, Nicholas; Vossler, Christian A.; Messer, Kent D.Insights from behavioral and experimental economics research can inform the design of evidence-based, cost-effective agri-environmental programs that mitigate environmental damages and promote the supply of environmental benefits from agricultural landscapes. To enhance future research on agri-environmental program design and to increase the speed at which credible scientific knowledge is accumulated, we highlight methodological challenges, identify important gaps in the existing literature, and make key recommendations for both researchers and those evaluating research. We first report on four key methodological challenges – underpowered designs, multiple hypothesis testing, interpretation issues, and choosing appropriate econometric methods – and suggest strategies to overcome these challenges. Specifically, we emphasize the need for more detailed planning during the experimental design stage, including power analyses and publishing a pre-analysis plan. Greater use of replication studies and meta-analyses will also help address these challenges and strengthen the quality of the evidence base. In the second part of this paper, we discuss how insights from behavioral and experimental economics can be applied to improve the design of agri-environmental programs. We summarize key insights using the MINDSPACE framework, which categorizes nine behavioral effects that influence decision-making (messenger, incentives, norms, defaults, salience, priming, affect, commitment, and ego), and we highlight recent research that tests these effects in agri-environmental contexts. We also propose a framework for prioritizing policy-relevant research in this domain.Item Behavioral Responses to Science-based Eco-labeling: Gold, Silver, or Bronze(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2018-02) Li, Tongzhe; Kecinski, Maik; Messer, Kent D.This study uses unique data collected from field experiments to investigate consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for otherwise homogeneous commodities that provide different levels of environmental services. On average, individuals are willing to pay more for products that provide a higher level of ecosystem services. This effect is larger when the label contains symbols that explicitly differentiate the levels and the magnitude is further amplified when it contains brief information on the scientific basis for the levels. However, our results also suggest that the WTP premium for the superior product is smaller than the discount in WTP for the inferior product. JEL Classifications: D12, Q55, M31, L10Item Conservation Professional Attitudes about Cost Effectiveness of the Land Preservation: A Case Study in Maryland(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2014-03) Messer, Kent D.; Allen, William; Kecinski, Maik; Chen, YuA consensus exists amongst academics that cost-effective land preservation should involve benefits and costs. In reality, the vast majority of conservation programs are not cost-effective, i.e. lower conservation benefits are achieved for the limited funding. Little research has been conducted about the attitudes of conservation professionals about the importance of being cost-effective and little is known about how conservation professionals believe that they can become more cost-effective. This study reports on a survey conducted with conservation professionals associated with the State of Maryland’s agricultural protection program, a leading program in the United States. Results suggest that while conservation professionals are generally in favor cost-effective conservation, it is not a top goal for them. Processes such as transparency and fairness are rated more important. This research shows how the willingness of administrators to adopt mathematical programming techniques is significantly influenced by knowledge of optimization technique, administrative requirements, cost concerns, percentage of agricultural land previously preserved in the county, how rural the county is, and lack of incentive for administrators to adopt cost-effectiveness techniques. This finding is important to understand the lack of adoption of cost-effective techniques. Results also suggest that adoption may be enhanced with the availability of software and training.Item Conserving Spatially Explicit Benefits in Ecosystem Service Markets: Lab and Artefactual Field Tests of Network Bonuses and Spatial Targeting(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2014-01) Fooks, Jacob; Higgins, Nate; Messer, Kent D.; Duke, Joshua M.; Hellerstein, Dan; Lynch, LoriConserving contiguous areas often enhances environmental benefits. However, most conservation efforts are voluntary, incentive-based, do not reward landowners for contiguity, or select based on contiguity. Thus, achieving optimal contiguity of conserved parcels is unlikely especially with limited budgets. Using laboratory and artefactual field experiments, this paper evaluates two mechanisms in the context of reverse auctions for achieving optimal contiguity: network bonuses and spatial targeting. Results suggest that spatial targeting alone improves the aggregate environmental and social welfare outcomes while network bonuses alone result in worse outcomes. The interaction of the bonus-effect and the targeting-effect is positive, suggesting that in a competitive auction environment that already includes bonuses, adding spatial targeting minimizes the damage.Item Consumer Demand for Local Honey: An Artefactual Field Experiment(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2014-05) Wu, Shang; Fooks, Jacob; Messer, Kent D.; Delaney, DeborahHow to best target and attract niche market consumers is an important marketing problem for producers of specialty agricultural products. It is particularly an issue in the honey market where consumers increasingly face media messages regarding threats to honey bee health, honey adulteration, and health benefits of locally produced honey. Using auction experiments, this research evaluates consumer behavior related to informational messages about honey that is produced locally, domestically, and internationally. Results from 115 adult consumers show that consumers’ demand for honey varies significantly based on the geographic location of the honey’s production, product packaging, and the information they have about the product. Consumers demonstrate greater demand for locally produced honey, especially when provided information about negative aspects of internationally produced honey that include adulteration. This shows that such negative media attention on specialty products offers small producers an opportunity to increase profitability by marketing themselves as a specialized niche alternative.Item Consumer Perceptions After Long Term Use or Alternative Irrigation Water: An Israeli Field Experiment(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2020-03) Ellis, S.F.; Kecinski, Maik; Messer, Kent D.; Lipchin, CliveThis study provides the first revealed preference estimates of Israeli’s willingness-to-pay for produce irrigated with alternative water. It also investigates how exposure to information about the benefits and risks of recycled water affects these preferences. Results show that Israeli’s prefer produce irrigated with conventional water over any type of alternative water, and that preferences for alternative water varies by type. Exposure to information about the risks of recycled water increases consumers’ willingness-to-pay for produce irrigated with desalinated water. These results indicate there may be limits to how high consumer demand for alternative water can rise even after long term implementation.Item Consumer Preferences for the Provision of Water Quality Services by Oysters(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2016-03) Kecinski, Maik; Messer, Kent D.; Peo, Audrey J.In the United States and many other countries around the world, estuary eutrophication is a major environmental problem that can result in harmful algal blooms with detrimental impacts on eco-systems and humans, while imposing substantial costs. Oysters are suspension feeders, filtering phytoplankton from water anad thereby reducing organic matter, the primary driver of eutrophication. The U.D. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) supports using shellfish aquaculture as a nutrient management practice. Our revealed preference dichotomous choice experiments test if participants are willing to pay price premiums for oysters that provide eco-system services. Results suggest that if oysters are from waters containing an unknown amount of nutrients, providing participants with information does not have an effect. However, providing partcipants with information about eutrophication and oysters’ ability to filter nutrients from water makes them more likely to choose oysters from low nutrient waters. Oysters from moderate and high nutrient waters, which provide larger eco-system services, are significantly more likely to be selected if participants receive no information.Item Consumer Preferences for the Provision of Water Quality Services by Oysters(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2017-06) Kecinski, Maik; Messer, Kent D.; Peo, Audrey J.In the United States and many other countries around the world, estuary eutrophication is a major environmental problem than can results in harmful algal blooms with detrimental impacts on eco-systems and humans, while imposing substantial costs. Oysters are suspension feeders, filtering phytoplankton from water and thereby reducing organic matter, the primary driver of eutrophication. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) supports using shellfish aquaculture as a nutrient management practice. Our revealed preference dichotomous choice experiments test if participants are willing to price premiums for oysters that provide eco-system services. Results suggest that if oysters are from waters containing an unknown amount of nutrient, providing participants with information does not have an effect. However, providing participants with information about eutrophication and oysters ability to filter nutrients from water makes them more likely to choose oysters from low nutrient waters. Oysters from moderate and high nutrient waters, which provide larger eco-system services, are significantly more likely to be selected if participants receive no information.Item Continuous Attribute Values in a Simulation Environment: Offshore Energy Production and Mid-Atlantic Beach Visitation(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2017-06) Fooks, Jacob R.; Messer, Kent D.; Duke, Joshua M.; Johnson, Janet B.; Parsons, George R.This research measures the welfare losses to beachgoers from the visual disamenity associated with offshore energy projects. We use a contingent-behavior approach in a field setting wherein respondents use a simulation to control the placement of offshore wind turbines and/or oil platforms in their choices. Our model allows for valuation results with continuous, instead of discrete, spatial resolution. We analyze the data using a duration or survival model consistent with random utility theory and recover an expression for willingness-to-pay as a function of distance of shore. We find three distinct clusters of participant responses. Most participants were relatively accepting of the wind turbines and had a much more elastic damage function as compared to oil platforms. On the other hand, a minority of participants displayed a strong aversion to any offshore installations, and had a higher level of damage from turbines instead of oil platforms.Item Demand for an Environmental Public Good in the Time of COVID-19: A Statewide Water Quality Referendum(Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 2022-02-10) Parsons, George; Paul, Laura A.; Messer, Kent D.Due to COVID-19, many households faced hardships in the spring of 2020 – unemployment, an uncertain economic future, forced separation, and more. At the same time, the number of people who participated in outdoor recreation in many areas increased, as it was one of the few activities still permitted. How these experiences affect the public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental public goods is unknown. During the early months of the pandemic, we conducted a stated preference survey to value statewide water quality improvements in Delaware. While a majority of participants report experiencing hardship of some sort (economic, emotional, etc.), mean household WTP declined by only 7 % by May 2020.Item Do Auctions Underestimate Consumer WTP? An Artefactual Field Experiment(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2014-05) Wu, Shang; Fooks, Jacob; Messer, Kent D.; Delaney, DeborahAuction experiments are commonly used to elicit consumer values for a wide range of items and services. These auctions are theoretically incentive compatible so are assumed to give an unbiased estimate of consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). However, the vast majority of consumer decisions are made not in auctions but in posted-price settings, such as grocery stores. This study tests whether the two mechanisms yield similar WTP estimates by comparing WTP for honey from a second-price Vickrey auction and the WTP from a posted-price dichotomous-choice mechanism in a within-subject, homegrown-value setting. Results from 115 adult consumers indicate that estimates of WTP generated by an auction are approximately 50% smaller than WTP estimates generated by a posted-price mechanism. We test several potential explanations for this difference in behavior and find no evidence of anchoring or yea-saying effects. The evidence does suggest that the framing of choice in an auction format and a lack of familiarity with auctions are the most plausible explanation for this downward bias.Item Does Food Processing Mitigate Consumers’ Concerns about Crops Grown with Recycled Water?(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2018-09) Savchenko, Olesya M.; Li, Tongzhe; Kecinski, Maik; Messer, Kent D.This paper presents results of a field experiment designed to evaluate whether food processing alleviates consumers’ concerns about crops grown with recycled water. Recycled water has emerged as a safe and cost-effective way to increase supplies of irrigation water. However, adoption of recycled water by U.S. agricultural producers has been modest, in part, because of concerns that consumers will be reluctant to accept recycled water for uses that involve ingestion or personal contact. Therefore, both policymakers and food producers must understand how consumers’ aversion to recycled water can be mitigated, especially when the products are safe. To date, most of the existing literature has focused on fresh food, yet our results suggest that, for food, simple processing such as drying or liquefying can relieve some of consumers’ concern about use of recycled irrigation water. We find that consumers of processed foods are indifferent between irrigation with recycled and conventional water, however, they are less willing to pay for fresh foods irrigated with recycled water relative to conventional water. We also find that the demographic and behavioral characteristics tested in the experiment mostly had no statistically significant effect. The one exception is age—older consumers are less likely than younger ones to purchase processed foods irrigated with recycled water. Our analysis further reveals that informational nudges that provide consumers with messages about benefits, risks, and both the benefits and risks of using recycled water have no statistically significant effect on consumers’ willingness to pay for fresh and processed foods irrigated with recycled water relative to a no-information control group.Item Fresh Foods Irrigated With Recycled Water: A Framed Field Experiment on Consumer Response(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2018-01) Xu, Huidong; Savchenko, Olesya; Kecinski, Maik; Messer, Kent D.; Li, TongzheRecycled water is one potential solution to meeting the growing demand for irrigation water in the U.S. and worldwide. However, widespread adoption of recycled water by agriculture will depend on consumers’ acceptance of food crops grown with this water. In a revealed-preference dichotomous-choice framed field experiment, this study elicits consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for fresh produce irrigated with recycled water. It also evaluates consumers’ behavioral responses to information about the environmental benefits and potential health risks of recycled irrigation water. The results suggest that consumers are less willing to pay for produce irrigated with recycled water than for produce irrigated with water of an unspecified type. Information about potential health risks associated with recycled water reduces consumers’ WTP by nearly 50% while information about its environmental benefits does not have a substantial impact. However, a behavioral intervention that presents individuals with a balanced information treatment leads to a 30% increase in mean WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water relative to the experimental control. However, this effect is only found with vegetables and not with fruit, perhaps because fruit is usually consumed raw. Most of the demographic characteristics analyzed in the experiment did not influence consumers’ likelihood of purchasing produce irrigated with recycled water; the exception was presence of a child in the household—those consumers were less likely to purchase the produce, particularly fruits, irrigated with recycled water.
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