Dr. Henry An, University of Alberta, will present "Hypothetical Bias, Strategic Stated Preferences and the Demand for Gene-edited Canola"

Posted on Monday, June 11, 2018

On Friday, June 15th, 2:30-4:00 pm, Room 101 MCLN .....

Gene-editing technologies allow scientists to alter DNA more effectively with potentially large benefits to the agri-food sector. However, these benefits are only realized if consumers buy the resulting products. In addition, a better understanding of the market demand for these gene-edited products is vital to providing the correct market signals to innovators. Stated preference methods are widely used to elicit consumer preferences, but these approaches are plagued by problems such as hypothetical bias and strategic behaviour. The two main objectives of this study are: (1) to gauge the potential market demand for foods produced using novel gene-editing technologies; and (2) to design a choice experiment to measure willingness-to-pay for gene-edited canola oil using an approach that accounts for strategic behaviour. This project has two main contributions: On the theoretical side, this study provides insight into dealing with consumer strategic behaviour in private good stated preference surveys. On the empirical side, this study provides insight into the consumer response toward a novel food produced using a technology that some scientists believe will revolutionize the agri-food sector.