18 pages, Recent studies cast doubt on the ability of abstract experiments to predict decision-making in the field. Thus, scholars have argued for more ‘realism’ by introducing context to field experiments. Yet, such realism may work against the induced values of monetary incentives in economic experiments. It is an open question whether contextual framing works best with or without inducing values, through methods such as the use of monetary incentives. Using a sample of 146 German farmers, we compare experimentally the predictive power of a framed lottery in an agricultural context vs. using an abstract version. For one half of the sample, lotteries are incentivised; for the other half, they are hypothetical. Although risk preferences differ between treatments, all four lottery tasks correlate poorly with farmers’ real-world use of risk management instruments such as harvest or hail insurance. Subjects who start with an agricultural framing are willing to take significantly greater risks in the lotteries. More generally, our findings cast doubt on the ability of lottery tasks to predict risk-taking in the field.
USA: Economic Research Service, U.S Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 30 Document Number: D10576
Notes:
37 pages., ERS staff report - No. AGEX831007. Also available online from Hathi Trust Digital Library., via library catalog., Food manufacturers spent $7 billion in advertising in 1997. Most of
this advertising focused on highly processed and highly packaged
foodswhich also tend to be the foods consumed in large quantities
in the United States relative to Federal dietary recommendations
such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Advertising expenditures on meat, fruits, and vegetables are negligible. In contrast, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture spent $333.3 million on nutrition
education, evaluation, and demonstrations. This is approximately
what the food industry spent on advertising just for coffee, tea, and
cocoa, or for snacks and nuts; slightly more than half (60 percent)
the amount spent on advertising for carbonated soft drinks, and less
than half the amount spent promoting beer, or candy and gum, or
breakfast cereals.
2 pages., via database., Incentive advertising, the offering of
merchandise to encourage the purchase,
sale, or dealing in a particular product,
is an important part of the food industry's advertising effort. Approximately I
out of every 4 food promotion dollars is
spent on some form of an incentive offer. Coupons, which, by contrast reward
the purchaser with a discount, and
media advertisements which are both informative and image creating, account
for the remaining portion of the food
advertising bill.
