Preferences for deferred annuities in the Japanese retirement market

Purpose Deferred annuities, which offer longevity insurance with relatively low premiums, are a potential payout option in defined contribution (DC) pension plans in Japan. This study aims to measure individual preferences for these annuities. Design/methodology/approach This study conducts stated choice experiments using an original internet survey. This methodology provides a decision-making scenario similar to that faced by individuals when making real retirement saving decisions. Subjective valuations of deferred, immediate and term annuities are compared. Findings This study finds that male individuals have an insignificant preference for deferred annuities – the benefits of which begin at an advanced age. On average, deferred annuities are considered a gamble, betting against life and individuals who are married and have higher financial assets tend to value them less. Originality/value While previous studies, based on theory and simulations, have found that deferred annuities should be included in individual retirement assets, this study examines annuity preferences from the demand side (i.e. DC plan participants) –an approach that has not been addressed in the literature.

The market for traceability with applications to U.S. feeder cattle

For voluntary traceability programs, a key interest for program designers and policymakers is how to encourage participation. We contend that participating in voluntary traceability can be viewed as a product characteristic, and thus serves as a source of product differentiation. We study the implicit market for traceability systems for the first known time. In our empirical example, we use stated choice experiments to link feeder cattle sellers and buyers through premiums and discounts for cattle traceability systems. Using results from discrete choice models, we simulate changes in traceability supply and demand in response to prices and policies. We find that cost-share policies might be an effective way of encouraging participation for feeder cattle sellers and could serve as an alternative to mandating traceability.

Consumers’ willingness to pay for plants protected by beneficial insects—Evidence from two stated-choice experiments with different subject pools

We investigate consumers’ willingness to pay for plants protected by beneficial insects and those protected by pesticides, respectively, as well as the influence of message framing on willingness to pay. We use basil, heather, and orchids as experimental objects and find evidence from two experiments that consumers prefer plants protected by beneficial insects. Moreover, we find that message framing affects consumers’ willingness to pay, where gain framing produces greater overall willingness to pay. To check for the robustness of our results, we implemented instruments to mitigate concerns for social desirability and hypothetical bias, finding that our results are robust in terms of our key findings. This is the first comprehensive experimental study specifically on consumer’s willingness to pay for plants protected by beneficial insects. Our findings are also valuable for practitioners, as the use of beneficial insects in under-glass production systems is already common. Following our results, this information could be successfully used for marketing purposes.