Mid-Atlantic consumers' preferences for produce irrigated with recycled water
| Author(s) | Xu, Huidong | |
| Date Accessioned | 2018-01-31T15:12:20Z | |
| Date Available | 2018-01-31T15:12:20Z | |
| Publication Date | 2017 | |
| SWORD Update | 2017-11-10T14:15:41Z | |
| Abstract | Using recycled water for irrigation is a solution to water shortages in agriculture. And understanding public acceptance of produce irrigated with recycled water is essential to the successful application of using recycled water for irrigation. This research used a single-bounded dichotomous choice model to calculate Mid-Atlantic adult consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for produce irrigated with conventional water and recycled water. Results suggest that, overall, adult consumers were price sensitive and their WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water was lower than the WTP for produce with no specification about the irrigational water sources. Furthermore, adult consumers did not change their WTP for produce irrigated with conventional water compared to those with no specification about the irrigational water sources. ☐ This study also examined the information effects on consumers WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water. Results showed that positive information about environmental benefits of recycled water did not have any significant effects on adult consumers’ acceptance of produce irrigated with recycled water. However, negative information about environmental and health risks of recycled water significantly lowered WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water. When both positive and negative information were provided, the combined effect was positive. ☐ Some demographic factors also had significant effects on adult consumers’ WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water. Overall, age, gender and income level did not have any significant effect on the acceptance of produce irrigated with recycled water. Those who came from families with at least one child under the age of 18 lowered their WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water in general. And having heard of recycled water before the experiment increased the overall WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water. ☐ Furthermore, we built several new models focused only on the group of people heard of recycled water before the experiment. Results suggest that their WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water were not significantly different from the WTP for produce with no specification about the irrigational water sources. Positive information did not have any significant effects on the acceptance of produce irrigated with recycled water, but negative information significantly lowered the acceptance. The combination of positive and negative information had a positive effect when demographic variables were introduced. ☐ The best market strategy so far is not to provide the irrigational water sources of the produce and instead, to provide the public with a combination of both positive and negative information about recycled water. With this widely spreading of knowledge of recycled water, providing the irrigational water sources will no longer significantly change the WTP for produce irrigated with recycled water and then we can label the irrigational water sources of the produce. | en_US |
| Advisor | Messer, Kent D. | |
| Degree | M.S. | |
| Department | University of Delaware, Department of Applied Economics and Statistics | |
| Unique Identifier | 1021051103 | |
| URL | http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/22641 | |
| Language | en | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| URI | https://search.proquest.com/docview/1970803460?accountid=10457 | |
| Keywords | Social sciences | en_US |
| Keywords | Earth sciences | en_US |
| Keywords | Information | en_US |
| Keywords | Preferences | en_US |
| Keywords | Recycled water | en_US |
| Keywords | Single-bounded dichotomous choice model | en_US |
| Keywords | WTP | en_US |
| Title | Mid-Atlantic consumers' preferences for produce irrigated with recycled water | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |