The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices
This paper analyzes price differentials among conventional, cage-free, organic, and Omega-3 eggs using retail scanner data from two regional markets and the United States as a whole. Results reveal significant premiums attributable to cage-free (a 57% premium on average) and organic (an 85% premium...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Western Agricultural Economics Association
2010-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/97855 |
| _version_ | 1818057643458035712 |
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| author | Jae Bong Chang Jayson L. Lusk F. Bailey Norwood |
| author_facet | Jae Bong Chang Jayson L. Lusk F. Bailey Norwood |
| author_sort | Jae Bong Chang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper analyzes price differentials among conventional, cage-free, organic, and Omega-3 eggs using retail scanner data from two regional markets and the United States as a whole. Results reveal significant premiums attributable to cage-free (a 57% premium on average) and organic (an 85% premium on average). However, significant variation exists among geographic locations; price premiums for organic over conventional eggs in Dallas are almost twice as high as those in San Francisco. Estimates indicate that about 42% of the typically observed premium for cage-free eggs over conventional eggs (and 36% of the premium for organic eggs) can be attributed to egg color rather than differences in hens' living conditions. Despite the large implicit price premiums for cage-free and organic, our data reveal that most shoppers are not willing to pay such high prices for cage-free and organic attributes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T12:48:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-64a381b6a3af46d19d13c1b92ac170b1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1068-5502 2327-8285 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T12:48:00Z |
| publishDate | 2010-12-01 |
| publisher | Western Agricultural Economics Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics |
| spelling | doaj.art-64a381b6a3af46d19d13c1b92ac170b12022-12-22T01:48:21ZengWestern Agricultural Economics AssociationJournal of Agricultural and Resource Economics1068-55022327-82852010-12-0135340642310.22004/ag.econ.9785597855The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg PricesJae Bong ChangJayson L. LuskF. Bailey NorwoodThis paper analyzes price differentials among conventional, cage-free, organic, and Omega-3 eggs using retail scanner data from two regional markets and the United States as a whole. Results reveal significant premiums attributable to cage-free (a 57% premium on average) and organic (an 85% premium on average). However, significant variation exists among geographic locations; price premiums for organic over conventional eggs in Dallas are almost twice as high as those in San Francisco. Estimates indicate that about 42% of the typically observed premium for cage-free eggs over conventional eggs (and 36% of the premium for organic eggs) can be attributed to egg color rather than differences in hens' living conditions. Despite the large implicit price premiums for cage-free and organic, our data reveal that most shoppers are not willing to pay such high prices for cage-free and organic attributes.https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/97855animal welfarecage-freeeggsfree-rangehedonicorganic |
| spellingShingle | Jae Bong Chang Jayson L. Lusk F. Bailey Norwood The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics animal welfare cage-free eggs free-range hedonic organic |
| title | The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices |
| title_full | The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices |
| title_fullStr | The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices |
| title_short | The Price of Happy Hens: A Hedonic Analysis of Retail Egg Prices |
| title_sort | price of happy hens a hedonic analysis of retail egg prices |
| topic | animal welfare cage-free eggs free-range hedonic organic |
| url | https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/97855 |
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