Taste Beats Reputation in New Food Products Choice: The Case of Ready-to-Eat Pomegranate among Young Consumers in Veneto Region (Italy)

This study investigates the preferences for ready-to-eat pomegranate arils in Italy through a discrete choice experiment (DCE) on 264 young consumers in Italy. The aim is to estimate consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the reputational attributes of the product (e.g., the product origin and sales channel) and to discriminate the elicited preferences between tasting and non-tasting situations. To this purpose, a random parameter logit model was employed to assess the heterogeneity in consumer preferences. The results suggest that non-tasters attach a relevant value to the reputational attributes (e.g., +75% WTP for Italian origin). Moreover, considering the sensory features of the products, we found that consumers in this group discriminate against the proposed samples only through their visual characteristics: they prefer the sample with the largest size and red colored arils. In addition, we found that the tasting experience reduced the value attached to the reputational attributes (e.g., −50% WTP for local origin) for consumers, compared to non-tasting situation, thus shifting their preference to the samples that they appreciated the most (high liking). Specifically, we found that consumers in the tasting group preferred the product sample with the highest level of sweetness and the lowest level of sourness and astringency, showing a higher preference for sweetness. The findings contribute to the literature on consumers’ behavior on new food products (NFPs), showing that reputational attributes lose value after the tasting experience. In contrast, the sensory features of the NFPs can help tasters to reduce the information asymmetry, which traditionally represents a hurdle in purchases for new consumers. However, this depends on the individuals’ subjective preferences, as demonstrated by the significant effect of liking levels in discriminating consumers’ choices. To conclude, although these results cannot be extended to the general population, they may give some interesting insights about future trends of NFP demand.

The Effects of Life Course Events on Car Ownership and Sustainable Mobility Tools Adoption Decisions: Results of an Error Component Random Parameter Logit Model

Life course events can change household travel demand dramatically. Recent studies of car ownership have examined the impacts of life course events on the purchasing, replacing, and disposing of cars. However, with the increasing diversification of mobility tools, changing the fleet size is not the only option to adapt to the change caused by life course events. People have various options with the development of sustainable mobility tools including electric car, electric bike, and car sharing. In order to determine the impacts of life course events on car ownership and the decision of mobility tool type, a stated choice experiment was conducted. The experiment also investigated how the attributes of mobility tools related to the acceptance of them. Based on existing literature, we identified the attributes of mobility tools and several life course events which are considered to be influential in car ownership decision and new types of mobility tools choice. The error component random parameter logit model was estimated. The heterogeneity across people on current car and specific mobility tools are considered. The results indicate people incline not to sell their current car when they choose an electric bike or shared car. Regarding the life course events, baby birth increases the probability to purchase an additional car, while it decreases the probability to purchase an electric bike or joining a car sharing scheme. Moreover, the estimation of error components implies that there is unobserved heterogeneity across respondents on the sustainable mobility tools choice and the decision on household’s current car.

A logistic distribution model of new short sea shipping line along a mutimodal corridor in Italy

The purpose of the application focuses on an intermodal model (RPL) to simulate the transport choice for freight sending on the most relevant corridor Naples–Milan. In this, operate a rail- road system with the introduction a new short sea shipping (SSS) intermodal line (Naples Sea Genova road Milan). The paper considers a collaboration with a multimodal transport operator, with many logistic platforms in Italy to analyze the degree of competition inside corridor. An application along this very congested route Milan (Segrate interport) - Nola (Naples interport) was used. The econometric models applied to operator choices are a random parameter logit model vs multinomial logit model with frequency, type of load and cost as main parameters.

Assessing Social Carrying Capacity of Tourism Destinations with Random Utility Models*

Some local visitors or tourists avoid visiting resorts because they have experienced or anticipate overcrowding. Hence, policymakers are concerned to monitor congestion levels. The paper proposes the use of the elasticity of the probability of visiting a destination with respect to increases in congestion, from a random utility framework. More precisely, random parameter logit model is estimated. The advantage of this approach is that it captures not only the current level of congestion but other aspects, such as the sensitivity of different destinations towards crowding and different visitors’ concern about congestion and their probabilities of visiting alternative destinations. It is shown that the rate of change of the elasticity increases with the number of visitors, capturing the expected underlying non-linear relationship such that, when the number of visitors is low, the index is also low but increases exponentially with the influx of new visitors.

Can I Trust You? Estimation Models for e-Bikers Stop-Go Decision before Amber Light at Urban Intersection

Electric bike (e-bike) riders’ inappropriate go-decision, yellow-light running (YLR), could lead to accidents at intersection during the signal change interval. Given the high YLR rate and casualties in accidents, this paper aims to investigate the factors influencing the e-bikers’ go-decision of running against the amber signal. Based on 297 cases who made stop-go decisions in the signal change interval, two analytical models, namely, a base logit model and a random parameter logit model, were established to estimate the effects of contributing factors associated with e-bikers’ YLR behaviours. Besides the well-known factors, we recommend adding approaching speed, critical crossing distance, and the number of acceleration rate changes as predictor factors for e-bikers’ YLR behaviours. The results illustrate that the e-bikers’ operational characteristics (i.e., approaching speed, critical crossing distance, and the number of acceleration rate change) and individuals’ characteristics (i.e., gender and age) are significant predictors for their YLR behaviours. Moreover, taking effects of unobserved heterogeneities associated with e-bikers into consideration, the proposed random parameter logit model outperforms the base logit model to predict e-bikers’ YLR behaviours. Providing remarkable perspectives on understanding e-bikers’ YLR behaviours, the predicting probability of e-bikers’ YLR violation could improve traffic safety under mixed traffic and fully autonomous driving condition in the future.

Politiche di gestione della risorsa idrica sotterranea a fini irrigui. Analisi delle preferenze degli agricoltori

The overexploitation of groundwater for irrigation purposes is a general problem affecting the management of common resources. The objective of this study was to analyze some of the policy options when facing this issue. A choice experiment was performed in order to elicit farmers' stated preferencesfor four policy instruments, namely i) implementation of a compulsory measurement system of groundwater extraction; ii) improved monitoring of rural areas in order to limit illegal access to groundwater; iii) reforming the groundwater tax system; iv) increasing the supply of reclaimed wastewater for irrigation. A survey was conducted in the Puglia region on a representative sample of 187 farmers, selected in the main hot-spot irrigated areas. A Random Parameter Logit Model was estimated using two covariates (i.e. size of irrigable farmland and farmers' awareness of groundwater shortage). Findings highlighted the farmers' preference for increasing the supply of water for irrigation (i.e. wastewater supply). Among the measures aiming to handle groundwater demand for irrigation, the respondents positively valued the enhancement of rural area monitoring to prevent illegal access, but they rejected a compulsory groundwater metering system. Finally, the methodological approach proved to be an effective tool to improve policy design, making the decisionmaking process more participatory.

Fishing location choice and risk preferences among small fishers – Implications for fisheries management policies

The study provides evidence for how risk preferences determine fishing location choices by artisanal fishers on the south-west coast of the island of Mauritius. Risk preference is modelled using a random linear utility framework defined over mean-standard deviation space. The study estimates expected revenue and revenue risk from the Just and Pope production function and applies the random parameter logit model to account for fisher-specific and location-specific characteristics. The findings are consistent with utility-maximising fishers, whereby the likelihood to choose a fishing location is positively associated with expected revenue and negatively related to revenue risk. Distance from fishing station to fishing grounds affects the choice of fishing location negatively. The estimated model allows heterogeneity in risk preferences and concludes that 51% of fishers can be classified as risk averse, 31% as risk seekers and the remaining as risk neutral. The study also estimates the degree of substitutability and complementarity between fishing locations based on the risk preferences of fishers and discusses the relevance of this for fisheries management policy.