Assessing Consumers' Valuation of Cosmetically Damaged Apples Using a Mixed Probit Model
通过混合Probit模型分析调查数据，发现消费者愿意为有机种植和低表面病害的苹果支付溢价，且消费者对严重瑕疵的容忍度有限，会在生产技术与外观之间权衡。
A mixed probit model was applied to survey data to analyzeconsumers’willingnessto buy apples with cosmetic damage caused by the sooty blotch and flyspeck (SBFS) disease complex. The analysis finds consumers will pay a premium for organic production methods and for apples with low amounts of SBFS damage. Behavioral variables such as experience in growing fruit significantly affect the willingness to buy applesofdifferentdamagelevels.Consumers’toleranceofveryblemishedapplesis limited and they trade off production technology attributes for cosmetic appearance. Better understanding of this trade-offisimportanttoorganicproducers’decisionsabout disease control.