Browsing by Author "Savchenko, Olesya M."
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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 Mitigating stigma associated with recycled water(American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2021-10-07) Ellis, Sean F.; Savchenko, Olesya M.; Messer, Kent D.Stigmatization of water and food products can constrain markets and prevent the implementation of scientifically safe solutions to environmental problems, such as water scarcity. Recycled water can be a cost-effective, dependable, and safe solution to water shortages. However, consumers generally either require a large reduction in price to purchase products made with recycled water or reject such products outright. If emerging sustainable agricultural technologies, such as recycled water, are to be used to address growing water shortages worldwide, policymakers, water managers, and industry stakeholders must identify effective strategies for mitigating the stigma associated with recycled water. Using field experiments involving 1420 adult participants, we test the effectiveness of two stigma-mitigating techniques. We also demonstrate a novel twist to the collection of representative samples in non-hypothetical field experimental settings and then compare the results to a more traditional field experiment that recruited participants at large public gatherings. The analysis of these two different samples suggests a common finding: passing recycled water through a natural barrier, such as an aquifer, removes the stigma consumers would otherwise attach to it. We also find that the trophic level an organism occupies in the food chain influences stigmatizing behavior. The greater the steps in the food chain between an organism and the use of recycled water, the less it is stigmatized by consumers. These results have important implications for efforts to promote large-scale potable and non-potable water recycling projects and the use of recycled water in the agricultural industry.Item Mitigating Stigma Associated with Recycled Water: Aquifer Recharge and Trophic Levels(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2020-06) Ellis, S.F.; Savchenko, Olesya M.; Messer, Kent D.Stigmatization of water and food products can constrain markets and prevent the implementation of scientifically safe solutions to environmental problems, such as water scarcity. Recycled water can be a cost-effective, dependable, and safe solution to water shortages, however, consumers generally either require a large reduction in price to purchase and eat products made with recycled water or reject such products outright. If emerging sustainable agricultural technologies, such as recycled water are to be used to address growing water shortages worldwide, policymakers and industry stakeholders must identify effective strategies for mitigating stigma. Using field experiments involving 1,420 adult participants, we test the effectiveness of two stigma-mitigating techniques. We also successfully demonstrate a novel twist to the collection of representative samples in non-hypothetical experimental settings and compare the results to a more traditional field experiment that recruited participants at a large public gathering. The analysis of these different samples suggests a common finding: passing recycled water through a natural barrier, such as an aquifer, removes the stigma consumers would otherwise attach to it. We also find that the trophic level an organism occupies in the food chain influences stigmatizing behavior. The greater the steps in the food chain between an organism and the use of recycled water, the less it is stigmatized. These results have important implications for efforts to promote large-scale potable and non-potable recycled water projects and the use of recycled water in the agricultural industry.Item Nudge or Sludge? An In-Class Experimental Auction Illustrating How Misunderstood Scientific Information Can Change Consumer Behavior(Applied Economics Teaching Resources, 2022-03-16) Paul, Laura A.; Savchenko, Olesya M.; Kecinski, Maik; Messer, Kent D.Scientific information can be used to help people understand and describe the world. For example, consumers regularly seek out information about their food and drink to help inform their purchasing decisions. Sometimes, however, consumers can respond negatively to this information, even when the information did not intend to convey a negative signal. These negative responses can be the result of misunderstandings or strong, visceral, emotional behavior, that can be challenging to foresee and once arisen, difficult (and expensive) to mitigate. In this paper, we show how educators can use an in-class economic experiment to introduce the power of a sludge—a small behavioral intervention that leads to worse outcomes. We provide a step-by-step guide to take students through a demand revealing design using a second-price, willingness-to-accept (WTA) auction that tests preferences for tap water and bottled water when students receive total dissolved solids (TDS) information. Additional classroom discussion topics are presented, including comparing nudges and sludges, the public response to the treatment of tap water, and the role of safety information in consumer response.Item Reclaimed Water and Food Production: Cautionary Tales from Consumer Research(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2018-09) Savchenko, Olesya M.; Kecinski, Maik; Li, Tongzhe; Messer, Kent D.Reclaimed water has been identified as a viable and cost-effective solution to water shortages impacting agricultural production. However, lack of consumer acceptance for foods irrigated with reclaimed water remains one of the greatest hurdles for widespread farm-level adoption. Using survey data from 540 adults in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., this paper examines consumer preferences for six sources of reclaimed irrigation water and identifies statistically significant relationships between consumers’ demographic characteristics and their preferences for each type of reclaimed water. Key findings suggest that consumers prefer rain water to all other sources of reclaimed water. Women are less likely than men to prefer reclaimed irrigation water sources and are particularly concerned about the use of black and brackish water. Consumers who had heard about reclaimed water before are more likely to accept its use. Drawing on evidence from survey and experimental research, this paper also identifies disgust, neophobia and health concerns as the key issues that lead consumers to accept or reject foods produced with reclaimed water. Finally, we identify avenues for future research into public acceptance of reclaimed water based on our analysis and evidence from prior research.Item What's in a Name? Branding Reclaimed Water(Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE., 2018-09) Ellis, Sean F.; Savchenko, Olesya M.; Messer, Kent D.Reclaimed water is often presented as a cost-effective, reliable, and safe solution to increasingly common water shortages in the United States and across the globe, but studies have shown that consumers tend to object to the use of this water. Broad adoption of this technology will require consumer acceptance or at least tolerance of it, and studies have suggested that better branding could minimize or even overcome their concerns. This study uses an experimental approach to test consumer preferences for twenty-one potential branding names for reclaimed water and to determine whether an opportunity for consumers to try this water can change their preferences. The results suggest that the common names for this water, such as Recycled, Reclaimed, Nontraditional, Treated Wastewater, and Reused, are the least appealing, as they all scored at the bottom. In contrast, names that invoke desirable characteristics of the water—Pure, Eco-Friendly, and Advanced Purified, were viewed significantly more favorable than the others. Having an opportunity to taste this water seems to clarify consumers’ preferences by increasing the differences in favorability between the names. Based on these results, it appears that while there are a couple of appealing names, the most preferred is Pure Water. For