Academic literature on the topic 'Perceive Price'

Aims: Price is one of the pivotal determinants when consumers make purchasing decisions. An unresolved issue in extant literature regarding factors that affect price referencing remains. The difficulty is in identifying types of price references that consumers will use in any given purchasing situation. This study hence proposed a new scheme of three-category taxonomy of reference price model and can be used as a conceptual framework for examining the effects of various reference prices on consumers’ price judgments.
 Methodology: A literature review and theoretical background lead to propositions.
 Conclusion: This research not only fills the literature gaps of referencing prices on consumer price judgments but also a three-category reference price model is developed. The present study goes beyond previous work in this field and a comprehensive set of reference price cues that influence consumers’ final reference price formation. This new model gives future research a direction to test and refine relationships proposed in the present study.

The purpose of this study is to build a model that explains various interactions between brand image, perceived quality, perceive price, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty as well as empirical proof of the model that has been developed. This study through a survey of 120 male and female respondents aged 17-50 years and has been consuming the product in the last 3 months. This study model will be analyzed using SEM and data from the survey is processed using SPSS 20. The result of the hypothesis test shows that there is significant influence between brand image, perceive of quality product and perceive price on customer satisfaction. Also, there is a significant influence on customer satisfaction on customer loyalty.

This article investigates the influence of perceived risk upon product display satisfaction, price comparison satisfaction, assortment satisfaction, and customer loyalty for footwear retail sales conducted online in India. 458 survey responses from college students who had purchased footwear online were analyzed. The findings show that price comparison satisfaction is the most important factor influencing assortment satisfaction. Assortment satisfaction leads to customer loyalty. The model suggests perceived risk is vital for customer loyalty, and that males and females perceive the relationship between product display satisfaction, assortment satisfaction, and price comparison satisfaction differently. Product display satisfaction, price comparison satisfaction, and assortment satisfaction are antecedents to customer loyalty but independent of perceived purchase risk

Despite free access to complete information regarding hotel quality and reference prices, consumers perceive significant price differences across different online platforms. We explore how perceived price dispersion on online travel agency platforms influences consumer purchase intention through mental account theory and propose a psychological mechanism explaining why consumers may tolerate and even embrace price discrepancies. Study 1 employs a scenario-based experiment that manipulates differing levels of price dispersion for the same hotel booking, demonstrating that higher PPD significantly amplifies perceived transaction utility and, in turn, acquisition utility. Study 2 corroborates these findings through an online survey with judgment sampling, highlighting that consumers—despite access to comprehensive OTA information—are often motivated, rather than deterred, by price discrepancies; multiple variable combinations were tested to ensure robust findings. This study challenges traditional marketing theories suggesting that price dispersion signals market unfairness and reduces consumers’ purchasing intention; instead, it mentally stimulates consumers. This perception enhances transaction and acquisition utility, positively impacting purchase intention. We also offer a robust model for mechanism study and provide insights for leveraging price dispersion as a cost-less promotional strategy, potentially increasing consumer engagement without additional marketing expenditure. We contribute to the literature by integrating the mental account theory into the context of online marketplaces and developing a price dispersion model with psychological utility in the consumer decision-making process.

This is the second in a series of articles exploring some of the issues facing dentists coming to terms with working in the ‘brave new world’. It examines the complex issues of understanding how pricing works, determining the price of a product or service, communicating this to customers, and understanding how people perceive prices and price changes

The competition to get the highest Market Share among Low-Cost Carrier airlines in Indonesia is getting fierce. Airlines are competing to offer prices that are appropriate for passengers to perceive them in this era of tariff wars. The degree of satisfaction that is felt is needed to get loyal customers. The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of customer experience and perceived price on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction. The method of analysis in this study uses the SEM-PLS (Structural Equation Model - Partial Least Square) method with 250 respondents taken by purposive sampling. The result of this research is there is effect positive and significant between customer experience on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, also there is effect of perceived price on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Airlines must pay attention to the services provided to create a memorable experience for passengers and adjust prices to be accepted by passengers.

Consumers expect companies to practice fair pricing. Understanding the underlying cognitive mechanism that determines consumers’ price fairness perceptions is significant. It could help mitigate negative outcomes from unfairness perceptions and place firms in a better competitive position. This study examines the role of consumers’ thinking styles in perceived price fairness and purchase intention in a price increase situation. An online experiment was conducted wherein 171 participants across India, primarily from tier-1 cities frequently using car rental services, took part from September to December 2021. The majority of the participants (72) were 21-30 years old (42%). All involved participants met the initial criteria of using car rental services at least once a week. Proposed hypotheses were checked by one-way ANOVA following Tukey post hoc test and PROCESS. One-way ANOVA results shows a significant influence of thinking styles on cognitive attribution with large effect size, F(2, 168) = 28.04, p < .001, η2 = 0.25; presents a significant influence of thinking styles on perceived price fairness with large effect size, F(2, 168) = 30.07, p < .001, η2 = .0.26; demonstrates a significant influence of thinking styles on purchase intention F(2, 168) = 19.94, p < .001, η2 = .0.19. Findings revealed that, in the face of a price increase occurrence, consumers thinking holistically and analytically differ in perceived price fairness and purchase intention. Furthermore, holistic thinkers with higher cognitive attribution perceive a price increase as fairer. Thereby, they have higher purchase intention than analytic thinkers. Acknowledgment This study received support from Internal Grant Agency (project number IGA/FaME/2022/010), Tomas Bata University in Zlín.

The aim of this objective reserach is to find a picture of the influence of brand image, price, product quality and perceive risk on purchase decision transformer product PT. Schneider Indonesia for business consumers in Indonesia. This research is quantitative study with descriptive and causal method undertaken at PT. Schneider Indonesia business unit transfomer in 2013. Data collection done towards 97 respondents and its surrounding others industries segment. The data were collected with questonnaire and analyzed with SPSS ver. 20.0. The results of this study concluded that (1) the brand image positive and has significant impact on purchasing decisions, (2) Price positive and has significant impact on purchasing decisions, (3) product quality positive and has significant impact on purchasing decisions, (4) perceive risk positive and significant impact on purchasing decisions and (5) all of the independent variables (brand image, price, product quality, and perceive risk) have significant positive effect on the dependent variable (purchase decisions). The variables that most influence the purchase decision is price variable, the second is brand image, the third is perceive risk and the fourth is a product quality.
 
 Keywords: brand image, price, product quality, perceive risk and purchase decision

Four studies were conducted to assess the accuracy with which consumers perceive objective price-quality relationships. Results across four studies indicate that, overall, consumers perceive objective price-quality relationships with only a modest degree of accuracy. However, findings also suggest that the accuracy of consumers’ perceptions is moderated by product type; that is, price-quality perceptions are more accurate for nondurable products than for durable products. The authors conclude that consumers’ price-quality perceptions appear to be a function of general or product-type-specific schemas, rather than independent evaluations of price-quality relationships for individual product categories.

How consumers perceive a price is believed to have certain value has become the focus of firm strategies in recent years. This study explores on how Consumers’ Perceptual Experiences of the Prices and their Relevance to Brand Image and Brand Loyalty. The findings suggest that price is not the main star of the price itself. There are so many things revolving around price that have relevance with Brand Image & Brand Loyalty. This research found that customers memorize prices better when they have a good experience with the price & memorize it as a positive memory and it locks the image of a good-quality brand with good-quality price for their subjective affordability. This thesis also creates several follow-up questions as this thesis found, information received by customers affects the way they justify a price, several questions are then created such as what kind of communication is the most effective in communicating added value or what kind of information can justify added value.

This dissertation investigates the dissimilar use of price and intrinsic information in product quality assessments by differentially familiar buyers. Further, the impact of price and intrinsic information in evaluating monetary sacrifice, product value and purchase intention are examined. In particular, the impact of differing degrees of buyer familiarity with the product is hypothesized to affect the extent to which price or intrinsic information is used to assess product quality. A secondary set of hypotheses posits relationships between different cues used in value perceptions and manifestations of behavioral intention, depending on buyer familiarity with the product. Pre-experimental work was conducted to accomplish numerous objectives. First, it was necessary to identify a product which exhibited an objective quality-price association in the marketplace that would be used in the experiment. Second, price and intrinsic cue levels were established through pretests. Third, with the assistance of experts, a scale was developed to determine subject familiarity with the product. Based on refinements dictated by pre-experimental work, data were collected to examine the effects of price and intrinsic cues on perceptions of quality, sacrifice, value and willingness to buy, in a 4x2 between subjects factorial design. Subjects' familiarity with the product was assessed and, depending on their degree of familiarity, their responses were analyzed in one of three similar experiments. Data were collected using both magnitude and category scaling procedures. The degree to which variations in the independent variable resulted in variations in responses were compared for the three differentially familiar groups to assess support for the hypotheses. In general, there is a great deal of support for the primary hypotheses, suggesting that unfamiliar, moderately familiar and highly familiar buyers display different cue utilization strategies while assessing product quality. It is likely that all subjects not having the same value for money resulted in relatively weak support for the secondary hypotheses. The implications of the findings are discussed from the perspectives of conceptual, methodological and analytical advances as well as practitioner relevance. The limitations of the research effort are outlined as are potential areas of future research.<br>Ph. D.

Researchers have consistently found that students and their parents have a distorted view of the costs of college attendance (Grodsky & Jones, 2004; Horn, Chen, & Chapman, 2003; Ikenberry & Hartle, 1998; Mumper, 1996). Those who are able to give an estimate of the tuition for various higher education alternatives often overestimate the actual price. When asked to estimate the tuition that in-state undergraduates would pay at four-year colleges in a given year, most students and their parents thought that the price was twice the actual amount (Horn et al., 2003b). Seventy-one percent of all individuals, and 83% of African-Americans believed that college was unaffordable for most families. The majority of individuals over-estimated the price by several thousands of dollars (Hartle, 1998). This study examined the literature on perceived price and used the theoretical construct based on the work of Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker to develop a methodology for studying whether students' perceived price of has a statistically significant impact on their plan to attend college and their actual matriculation. Applying Becker's theory, having faulty information on the price of attendance would result in people incorrectly weighting the cost-benefit equation and making what could be considered irrational decisions in the presence of complete information. Highlighting the problem of misperceived price is the contribution this study makes to the literature. Further study is warranted to determine the extent to which individuals use misperceived prices to make decisions on whether to plan to attend higher education.<br>Ph. D.

As proven by many studies, non-industrial consumers perceive price as a strong quality indicator. However, the applicability of this behavior to an industrial setting has been long questioned. It is hypothesized in this research that the levels of price-perceived quality will decrease in an industrial setting as the technical knowledge of the buyer increases. Judgement Sampling method was used to select the most appropriate sample for this study. Since engineers are particularly important influencers in the purchase decision process in organization, engineering students and professors were chosen as the study population. A survey was administered to a sample population that consisted of 153 respondents out of which 3.3% were professors, 9.8% graduate students, and 76.4% undergraduate students; 70.6% males and 15.7% females; 13.7% Mechanical Engineering, 28.1% Industrial Engineering, 7.8% Civil Engineering, 34% Electrical Engineering, and 4.6% Computer Engineering students. We evaluated the relationship between technical knowledge and price-perceived quality in an industrial setting using various regression models and other statistical models. Findings indicate that the price-perceived quality effect moves from an almost linear behavior to a nonlinear one as the technical knowledge increases. However, the transition from linear to nonlinear seems to be random. Further studies are needed. In our specific experiment, technical attributes, such as processing speed, RAM size, hard drive size, and CD-ROM speed, possess a strong positive relationship with quality (i.e. a "the faster, the better; the more, the merrier" type of situation); on other hand, our experiment indicates that price loses its significance as an indicator of quality as the buyer's technical knowledge increases.

Tourism and Sport<br>Ph.D.<br>Revenue management has been applied to the restaurant industry, but restaurant operators have been disinclined to apply various types of RM approaches, due to apprehension for customer's possible expressions of dissatisfaction. To relieve this reluctance, restaurant operators may need to understand how their customers perceive capacity limitations. While customers are more familiar with RM practices in traditional RM industries (e.g., airlines or hotels) with fixed capacities, perceptions of capacity limitations in restaurants (relatively flexible capacity) may influence customers' perceptions of RM practices. In addition, the price difference between high-demand periods and low-demand periods may have differential impacts on customers' perceptions of value of the restaurant's expected offering and the fairness of RM practices. Based on commodity theory and equity theory, this study hypothesizes that two main effects, perceived scarcity of space in a restaurant and price differences between high-demand and low-demand periods, influence perceived value of a restaurant's offering and fairness perceptions of a restaurant's RM practice. As hypothesized, the negative effects of price difference on fairness perceptions are supported by the results, but the effect on perceived value has support only from the results of structural equation modeling. Unexpectedly, the main effect of perceived scarcity of space does not influence either perceived value of a restaurant's expected offering or fairness perceptions for a restaurant's RM practice. Interesting results arose found from supplementary analyses and suggest future research directions.<br>Temple University--Theses

Baker and Wurgler (2002) define a new theory of capital structure. In this theory capital structure evolves as the cumulative outcome of past attempts to time the equity market. Baker and Wurgler extend market timing theory to long-term capital structure, but their results do not clearly distinguish between the two versions of market timing: perceived mispricing and adverse selection. The main purpose of this dissertation is to empirically identify the relative importance of these two explanations. First, I retest Baker and Wurgler's theory by using insider trading as an alternative to market-to-book ratio to measure equity market timing. I also formally test the adverse selection model of the equity market timing: first by using post-issuance performance, and then by using three measures of adverse selection. The first two measures use estimates of adverse information costs based on the bid and ask prices, and the third measure is based on the close-to-offer returns. Based on received theory, a dynamic adverse selection model implies that higher adverse information costs lead to higher leverage. On the other hand, a naïve adverse selection model implies that negative inside information leads to lower leverage. The results are consistent with the equity market timing theory of capital structure. The results also indicate that a naïve, as opposed to a dynamic, adverse selection model seems to be the best explanation as to why managers time equity issues.

We examine the antecedents of customer satisfaction in the restaurant sector, paying particular attention to perceived value and price level. Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation, we extract latent topics from the text of Yelp! reviews, then analyze the relationship between these topics and satisfaction, measured as the difference between review rating and user average review rating.

Bibliography: leaves 66-70.<br>Hyperinflation, as defined in IAS 29, was identified in Zimbabwe in November 1999. Accordingly, the standard, and its General Price Level adjustments, was adopted for financial years beginning on 1st January 2000. However, there has been much resistance to the implementation of the standard, which is considered to require the provision of costly, meaningless information that is not used by anyone in the investment process. This study attempts to determine the use and perceived usefulness of IAS 29 in Zimbabwe and to identify the significant problems and weaknesses in the restatement process that have caused this. The study found both the use and perceived usefulness of IAS 29 General Price Level information to be extremely low. The major reason cited for this was the lack of user understanding. The other major problems related to the perception of inconsistent methods and assumptions in the restatement process, as well as the use of the CIP, accused of being manipulated by government, as the basis of restatement. These issues need to be addressed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, in consultation with the other accounting regulatory bodies, before the use and perceived usefulness of the IAS 29 General Price Level information can improve. Further, the study indicates that, whilst the preparers of financial information are extremely undecided as to the manner in which the accounting regulatory bodies in Zimbabwe should proceed, the analysts using such information are very much in favour of retaining the disclosure of inflation adjusted figures in some form, until such time as the inherent usefulness of the information is either proved or disproved.

Submitted by André Bueno Saab (andre@sbkbusiness.com.br) on 2017-04-05T15:10:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação André Saab - vbiblioteca.pdf: 2273601 bytes, checksum: a1555eb518b6cfea40622c38caf4524c (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2017-04-05T15:11:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação André Saab - vbiblioteca.pdf: 2273601 bytes, checksum: a1555eb518b6cfea40622c38caf4524c (MD5)<br>Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-05T15:37:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação André Saab - vbiblioteca.pdf: 2273601 bytes, checksum: a1555eb518b6cfea40622c38caf4524c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-06<br>B2B price scholarship most frequently assumes that organizational purchase is a rational, free-bias activity, in line with theory of choice. Heuristics, such as price-quality effect, are rarely applied in theories, frames and models to explain how purchase managers respond to price stimuli. However, new studies in B2B sets have been suggesting that price response may not be as rational as the prevailing perspective had assumed. Trying to shed light on the issue of behavioral response to price stimuli in B2B sets, this study undertook a laboratory experiment to test the effects of price on product’s perceived risk (as the uncertainty of adverse outcome due to purchase decision) and product’s overall benefits. This experiment also tested as possible moderators (i) decision importance, (ii) experience at buying tasks and (iii) product type (search vs. credence). Findings gave support to the behavioral hypothesis that managers do take price to make judgments about product’s perceived risk (main effect), effect known as price-quality effect, one kind of heuristic. None of the proposed moderators could individually moderate the main effect. However, experience in buying tasks and product type could simultaneously moderate the main effect, in a second order interaction, but not exactly as hypothesized. Experienced managers, under search products judgment, as well as inexperienced managers, under credence products judgment, took price to make inferences on product’s perceived risk. The main conclusions are that (i) organizational price response is not as rational and bias free as the prevailing perspective had assumed and (ii) moderation of price-quality effect in B2B is more complex and sophisticated than previous studies had proposed. Finally, the study discusses implications for theory building and price management in B2B.<br>O estudo de preços no B2B frequentemente assume que as compras organizacionais são uma atividade racional, isenta de viés, convergindo com a teoria da escolha. Heurísticas, como o efeito preço-qualidade, raramente são utilizadas em teorias, estruturas e modelos para explicar como gerentes de compra respondem ao estímulo do preço. Entretanto, novos estudos no B2B têm sugerido que a resposta ao preço talvez não seja tão racional como a perspectiva prevalente assume. Com o intuito de jogar luz sob a questão da resposta comportamental ao preço em ambientes B2B, este estudo realizou um experimento de laboratório para testar os efeitos do preço no risco percebido (como a probabilidade de resultados adversos em função da escolha de um produto) e na percepção de benefícios gerais do produto. Este experimento também testou como moderadores (i) importância da decisão, (ii) experiência em atividades de compra e (iii) tipo de produto (produto de busca vs. crença). Resultados sustentam a hipótese comportamental de que gerentes utilizam o preço para realizar julgamentos sobre a risco do produto (efeito principal), conhecido como efeito preço-qualidade, um tipo de heurística. Nenhuma das variáveis propostas foi capaz de moderar o efeito principal individualmente. Entretanto, experiência em atividades de compra e tipo de produto moderaram simultaneamente o efeito principal, em uma interação de segunda ordem, mas não exatamente da forma como havia sido proposta. Gerentes experientes, em julgamentos de produtos de busca, assim como gerentes inexperientes, em julgamentos de produto de crença, utilizaram o preço para inferir o risco do produto. As principais conclusões são (i) a resposta organizacional ao preço não é tão racional e isenta de vieses quanto a perspectiva prevalente assume e (ii) a moderação do efeito preço-qualidade no B2B é mais complexa e sofisticada do que o assumido em estudos anteriores. Por fim, o estudo discute implicações para a construção de teoria e para a gestão de preço no B2B.

Teylers Museum was founded in 1784 and soon thereafter became one of the most important centres of Dutch science. The Museum’s first director, Martinus van Marum, famously had the world’s largest electrostatic generator built and set up in Haarlem. This subsequently became the most prominent item in the Museum’s world-class, publicly accessible, and constantly growing collections. These comprised scientific instruments, mineralogical and palaeontological specimens, prints, drawings, paintings, and coins. Van Marum’s successors continued to uphold the institution’s prestige and use the collections for research purposes, while it was increasingly perceived as an art museum by the public. In the early twentieth century, the Nobel Prize laureate Hendrik Antoon Lorentz was appointed head of the scientific instrument collection and conducted experiments on the Museum’s premises. Showcasing Science: A History of Teylers Museum in the Nineteenth Century charts the history of Teylers Museum from its inception until Lorentz’ tenure. From the vantage point of the Museum’s scientific instrument collection, this book gives an analysis of the changing public role of Teylers Museum over the course of the nineteenth century.

This article demonstrates how governments have distorted food markets in high-income countries, primarily through ineffective trade policies. It begins by reviewing theories on agriculture’s perceived role in development. It then considers a recent World Bank study, which presents evidence of price-distorting policies in both high-income and developing countries. Next, it discusses the contribution of agriculture to the current global welfare cost of distortions to farm and nonfarm goods markets, and the impact of those distortionary policies on income inequality and poverty. The article concludes by assessing the policy implications of the study’s empirical findings.

Up until recently, the role of the customer in economic geography seems to have been confined to a passive recipient of products at the end of the value chain. Innovation, in particular, has been conceived as an affair within and between firms. More recently, however, this traditional perception has been challenged. Consumers, in fact, are no longer seen as mere buyers of commodities but are more and more perceived (and perceive themselves) as competent users who contribute valuable knowledge to innovation processes and who have the power and capacity to intervene at all stages in the value creation process. Value co-creation has emerged as a new paradigm that signifies this transformation of the role of consumers. The prime aim of this chapter is to map out the evolving terrain of value co-creation and to draw conclusions for economic geographical inquiry into innovation processes.

This edited volume explores patriotism and the growing role of militarism in today’s Russia. During the last 20-year period, there has been a consistent effort in Russia to consolidate the nation and to foster a sense of unity and common purpose. To this end, Russian authorities have activated various channels, from educational programmes and youth organizations to media and popular culture. With the conflict in Ukraine, the manipulation of public sentiments – feeling of pride and perception of threat – has become more systemic. The traditional view of Russia being Other for Europe has been replaced with a narrative of enmity. The West is portrayed as a threat to Russia’s historical-cultural originality while Russia represents itself as a country encircled by enemies. On the other hand, these state-led projects mixing patriotism and militarism are perceived sceptically by the Russian society, especially the younger generations. This volume provides new insights into the evolution of enemy images in Russia and the ways in which societal actors perceive official projections of patriotism and militarism in the Russian society. The contributors of the volume include several experts on Russian studies, contemporary history, political science, sociology, and media studies.

Aware of Mr. Doby's neglect by biographers, Mr. Moore, who has been a fan of his subject ever since he heard the Doby legend, seeks to give him recognition. . . . Mr. Moore effectively uses records, interviews, and a clear narrative style to make his points (what is more persuasive in sports than an athlete's record! what is more animated than public statements and their refutations!), and gives voice to some of Mr. Doby's severest critics….Pride Against Prejudiceis a tribute to both its author and Larry DobyNew York Times Book Review This is an excellent biography of Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League and one of the first black managers in the major leagues. . . . Moore has done a superb job of researching Doby's life and writing about it. The book is highly recommended.The Sporting News As the second black major league baseball player, following Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby has never received the acclaim accorded to Robinson; yet his experiences of segregation and racial invective, and his courage and ability to excel in the face of almost overwhelming circumstances, were equivalent. This fascinating biography brings to light many interesting and little-known facts concerning Doby's life and baseball career, and his contribution as a civil rights pioneer in the American League. His story is perceived as the story of the many black men who followed him into major league baseball, and who shared importantly in pioneering the integration of the sport.

If Blackwood’s helped to generate a recuperative medical humanism in the first half of the nineteenth century, what was its legacy? This ‘Coda’ turns to the fin de siècle to trace some key examples of a resurgence of the magazine’s mode of medical humanism at a time of perceived crisis for the medical profession, when many began ‘to worry that the transformation of medicine into a science, as well as the epistemological and technical successes of the new sciences, may have been bought at too great a price’....

AbstractIn this chapter, we propose a framework of market-based incentive mechanisms for the adoption and scaling of sustainable production standards throughout rice value chains and review evidence of two mechanisms that have been piloted in Vietnam: “internalizing” and “embodying.” The evidence suggests that sustainable production standards can be successfully “internalized” in rice value chains through policies (public governance) that provide an enabling environment for vertical coordination and private governance of standards (e.g., through contract farming). However, the major challenge policymakers and value chain actors face for this mechanism to succeed is to reconcile differences in contract preferences between contracting parties and solve trust and coordination issues (e.g., contract breach and side-selling). Market evidence suggests that sustainable production standards can be successfully “embodied” in rice products through certification and labeling. Vietnamese consumers were found to put significant price premiums on sustainable production certification and even more so if supplemental information is provided on certification and traceability. Both examples highlight the role policymakers can play in the adoption and scaling of sustainable production standards throughout rice value chains by creating an enabling environment for vertical coordination and private sector investment in certification and information campaigns. We conclude by discussing how policymakers can overcome the challenges for these mechanisms to succeed and identifying areas for future research. Furthermore, we provide a detailed description of the monitoring and evaluation process of CORIGAP activities. We explain the development from paper-based to computer-assisted survey tools, the evaluation of changes that farmers perceive and provide a case study on impact evaluation using econometric analysis. It becomes clear that a multidimensional project like CORIGAP needs a variety of means to assess the changes on different levels. We found that farmers in all CORIGAP countries perceive positive changes. Their yields and profits have increased, and the project has exceeded its target reach in all countries. This was also due to other funding schemes that supported CORIGAP technologies and practices, such as the rollout of 1M5R in Vietnam and the 3CT in China. The project used a variety of dissemination strategies to communicate the outputs and outcomes to a plethora of different stakeholders. Among the most successful were social media campaigns, including informative videos about CORIGAP technologies and practices. The chapter closes with some anecdotal evidence of how, especially postharvest technologies, influenced policies in the CORIGAP countries. We provide lessons learned from the project to be taken care of in future projects that aim to introduce sustainable agricultural practices and technologies to improve natural resource management.

Abstract This study aims to examine the effect of product price fairness, product quality, and service quality on customer loyalty by customer satisfaction mediation. This research was conducted on Shopee consumers in Surabaya. This study used quantitative methods with PLS (partial least square) test equipment. The results show that product fairness has an effect on customer loyalty, while product quality and service quality have no effect on customer loyalty. Product price fairness and service quality have an effect on customer satisfaction, while product quality has no effect. While customer satisfaction affects customer loyalty.

Abstract The emergence of sustainability concerns has significantly influenced company strategies. The growing importance of sustainability is particularly affecting marketing, especially product-line pricing strategies. Companies are being coerced into integrating sustainability goals and eco-friendly practices into their current operations; practices which also entail pricing strategies. Proposing optimal pricing strategies according to customer-perceived prices, to maximize sales optimization, has thus gained increased attention from both practitioners and scholars. This chapter explores sustainable consumer behavior and aims to investigate how organizations influence sustainable consumption through a pricing strategy that relies on descriptive and predictive analytics using machine learning methods. More precisely, the focus of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview of factors affecting sustainable consumer behavior and the role of price by using descriptive analytic methods (data summarization and visualization) and predictive analytic methods (logistic regression) as tools. Our empirical context features a Nordic retail conglomerate and covers data on sustainable consumer behavior from 2019 to 2024, to which descriptive and predictive analytics using machine learning methods are applied. We conclude the chapter by discussing how retailers can analyze and predict their customers’ purchasing behavior regarding choosing sustainable products over substituting ones.

Food waste contributes significantly to climate and environmental degradation. According to recent estimates, food loss and waste account for 8�10% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. A number of studies have investigated individuals� willingness to pay (WTP) in relation to voluntary certification schemes pertaining to various ethical attributes, including locally grown, fair trade, organic, and so forth. The impact of a voluntary certification scheme about reducing food waste�and the higher price people might be willing to pay for it�have not been thoroughly studied. In order to determine whether participants in the current study (N = 80) would be willing to pay more for bread certified against food waste than for non-certified bread, a non-hypothetical auction was conducted. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of the individual sense of control, which can be defined as either perceived behavioral control or perceived responsibility. Results show that participants are willing to pay more for bread that has been certified to reduce food waste. In addition, perceived behavioral control has a significant positive impact on the premium price for the certified product, whereas perceived responsibility has no effect on it. Results are robust to participants� gender and income. Practical implications related to control-based and responsibility-based communication strategies for reducing food waste are discussed.

Abstract Economic pressures on the refining industry are forcing many refiners to look at lower priced high acid crudes to improve margins. These crudes may be discounted because they are perceived to cause increased corrosion or fouling problems, or simply because they are new or unknown to the market. If these problems are not properly managed or understood, the benefits of lower price may be consumed by higher processing costs or by the deterioration of the assets caused by corrosion. To safely process these high acid crudes, a comprehensive multi-discipline service has been implemented to identify, assess and mitigate the corrosion, fouling and processing risks associated with these crudes. This service covers all the aspects that are necessary to optimize the economics of processing corrosive crudes, such as materials selection, corrosion inhibition, process control, corrosion monitoring, inspection, and scheduling. In addition to managing the potential corrosion problems, it also addresses key issues such as crude oil selection strategy, the true value and cost of processing the crudes, an evaluation of the refinery's blending capabilities, the compatibility of various crudes, the quality of products, etc. This paper provides an overview of the strategic issues associated with processing high acid crudes and several case histories describing the benefits gained from using this approach.

Abstract Garnet has proven itself to be an exceptionally high performance abrasive over the last 25 years. It is efficient, low dusting, consistent, environmentally friendly and worker-safe. Knowledgeable blasters favor garnet and facility engineers specify it. As a very heavy and hard mineral, garnet offers a unique blend of high performance characteristics unmatched by conventional dry abrasives. The only perceived negative to blasting garnet is a higher cost per ton. As project costs increase and environmental and safety regulations broaden, the higher purchase price is easy to justify. All the user need do is apply it properly. The wide range of performance advantages garnet provides is now recognized by informed users who need a more efficient abrasive. Currently garnet enjoys widespread popularity as a single pass abrasive for field work with sales setting record levels year after year.

As retail companies expand their presence across multiple channels, they face the crucial question of whether to offer uniform pricing for their products across all channels or implement some form of price differentiation strategy. While there are arguments for both approaches, there is a lack of research on how consumers perceive such pricing strategies. The present study investigates the influence of perceived price unfairness on consumer complaint behaviour and the effect of the interaction between the place of purchase and the place of the reference transaction on this relationship. We conducted a scenario-based experiment involving 190 participants with a 2 × 2 factorial design. We analysed the data using the PLS method, by applying the MIMIC approach. Our findings suggest that consumers’ perception of price unfairness is not affected by the interaction of the place of purchase and the place of reference transaction. However, the context may play a role in determining whether consumers will seek sanctions against the “unfair” providers. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings.

Technology has significantly reshaped how humans interact with their tangible and intangible surroundings. Cryptocurrency is considered to be one of the most recent technological inventions which revolutionized how we perceive currencies and their functionality. It has become popular because of its safety, security and anonymity. However, volatility remains one of the major issues with cryptocurrencies to this day. Therefore, the primary aim of this paper is to develop LSTM (Long ShortTerm Memory), GRU (Gated Recurrent Units) and a Stacking Ensemble Learning algorithm that efficiently predicts the price of a cryptocurrency for a given period of time. The predictions are then observed and analysed to determine the comparative performance of the said algorithms. Keywords Cryptocurrency, LSTM, GRU, Stacking Ensemble, Neural Network, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence

Price is undeniably a critical factor that shapes consumers' decisions when navigating the intricate landscape of purchasing. Within the realm of consumer behavior, studies have shed light on a fascinating phenomenon: consumers tend to assess the internal cues of a product, particularly its form, when gauging product quality during the purchasing process. Only when form falls short as a judgment criterion do they turn to external cues, such as price. This leads to an intriguing inference — the form of a product significantly influences its perceived price. In light of this, our study is committed to delving deeply into the complex interplay between form features and the perception of price, with the aim of pinpointing specific design elements that enhance consumer perceived price. To focus on the interaction between form features and the perception of price, we eliminate the potential impact of color and material. Thus, this study selects glass perfume bottles with relatively simple colors and materials as the research objects. The study adopts a two-stage experimental approach conducted in the form of focus groups. In the first stage, five high-involvement consumers with over 25 perfume purchasing experiences discussed together to choose seven bottles that are unanimously considered high-priced perfume bottle samples. In the second stage, five expert designers with over 15 years of design experience are invited to extract the design features from the samples selected in the previous stage. The results of this study indicate that specific design features contribute to people's perception of higher prices. Examples of such features include the simulated diamond surface cut, an overall aspect ratio close to 16:9, small and delicate decorations, and clearly demarcated lines between the cap and body. The findings thereby provide valuable insights for designers and strategic recommendations for businesses in terms of pricing strategies.

This paper assessed the influence of price, perceived quality and perceived value of mobile value–added services (MVAS) on customer satisfaction in Tanzania. Using questionnaires, the data was collected from 390 sampled mobile subscribers from 10 randomly selected wards in Dar es Salaam. Data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially to determine the effect of price, perceived quality and perceived value of MVAS on customer satisfaction. Findings indicate that, majority of respondents were of the view that customer satisfaction is highly influenced by the price of MVAS. Further, most of respondents were of the opinion that perceived quality of MVAS highly influence customer satisfaction. Likewise, respondents admitted that customer satisfaction is highly influenced by the perceived value of MVAS. Furthermore, price, perceived quality and perceived value of MVAS explain about 57.3% of the variability in customer satisfaction. The study concludes that price, perceived quality and perceived value of MVAS significantly and positively influence customer satisfaction. Perceived value of MVAS is the most significant attribute in influencing customer satisfaction, followed by perceived quality and price. It is therefore recommended that mobile service providers should improve and be more competitive in terms of pricing, quality and value of their MVAS. In this case policy makers in the telecommunication industry such as Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) and relevant government ministries should create conducive business environment for service providers to provide best pricing, service quality and perceived value of MVAS so as to improve customer satisfaction.

Abstract Technology adoption in low-income regions is among the key challenges facing international development projects. Nearly 40% of the world’s population relies on open fires and rudimentary cooking devices exacerbating health outcomes, deforestation, and climatic impacts of inefficient biomass burning. Clean technology alternatives such as clean cookstoves are among the most challenging technologies to approach their target goals through sustainable adoption due to lack of systematic market-driven design for adoption. Thus, a method is needed to provide insight regarding how target customers evaluate and perceive causes for adopting a clean technology. The holistic approach of this study captures the three main aspects of technology adoption through lenses of social networks, individual and society scale beliefs, and rational decision-making behavior. Based on data collected in the Apac region in Northern Uganda, an Agent-Based Model is developed to simulate emerging adoption behavior in a community. Then, four different scenarios investigate how adoption patterns change due to potential changes in technology or intervention strategy. These scenarios include influence of stove malfunctions, price elasticity, information campaigns, and strength of social network. Results suggest that higher adoption rates are achievable if designed technologies are more durable, information campaigns provide realistic expectations for users, policy makers and education programs work toward women’s empowerment, and communal social ties are recognized for influence maximization. Application of this study provides insight for technology designers, project implementers, and policy makers to update their practices for achieving sustainable and to the scale clean technology adoption rates.

This paper exploits unique features of a recently introduced tariff schedule for natural gas in Buenos Aires to estimate the short-run impact of price shocks on residential energy utilization. The schedule induces a non-linear and non-monotonic relationship between households' accumulated consumption and unit prices, thus generating an exogenous source of variation in perceived prices, which is exploited in a regression-discontinuity design. The estimates reveal that a price increase in the utility bill received by consumers causes a substantial and prompt decline in gas consumption. Hence they suggest that policy interventions via the price mechanism, such as price caps and subsidies, are powerful instruments to influence residential energy utilization patterns, even within a short time span.

Executive Summary This report describes a series of experiments carried out by PRICE Lab, a research programme at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) jointly funded by the Central Bank of Ireland, the Commission for Energy Regulation, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Commission for Communications Regulation. The experiments were conducted with samples of Irish consumers aged 18-70 years and were designed to answer the following general research question: At what point do products become too complex for consumers to choose accurately between the good ones and the bad ones? BACKGROUND AND METHODS PRICE Lab represents a departure from traditional methods employed for economic research in Ireland. It belongs to the rapidly expanding area of ‘behavioural economics’, which is the application of psychological insights to economic analysis. In recent years, behavioural economics has developed novel methods and generated many new findings, especially in relation to the choices made by consumers. These scientific advances have implications both for economics and for policy. They suggest that consumers often do not make decisions in the way that economists have traditionally assumed. The findings show that consumers have limited capacity for attending to and processing information and that they are prone to systematic biases, all of which may lead to disadvantageous choices. In short, consumers may make costly mistakes. Research has indeed documented that in several key consumer markets, including financial services, utilities and telecommunications, many consumers struggle to choose the best products for themselves. It is often argued that these markets involve ‘complex’ products. The obvious question that arises is whether consumer policy can be used to help them to make better choices when faced with complex products. Policies are more likely to be successful where they are informed by an accurate understanding of how real consumers make decisions between products. To provide evidence for consumer policy, PRICE Lab has developed a method for measuring the accuracy with which consumers make choices, using techniques adapted from the scientific study of human perception. The method allows researchers to measure how reliably consumers can distinguish a good deal from a bad one. A good deal is defined here as one where the product is more valuable than the price paid. In other words, it offers good value for money or, in the jargon of economics, offers the consumer a ‘surplus’. Conversely, a bad deal offers poor value for money, providing no (or a negative) surplus. PRICE Lab’s main experimental method, which we call the ‘Surplus Identification’ (S-ID) task, allows researchers to measure how accurately consumers can spot a surplus and whether they are prone to systematic biases. Most importantly, the S-ID task can be used to study how the accuracy of consumers’ decisions changes as the type of product changes. For the experiments we report here, samples of consumers arrived at the ESRI one at a time and spent approximately one hour doing the S-ID task with different kinds of products, which were displayed on a computer screen. They had to learn to judge the value of one or more products against prices and were then tested for accuracy. As well as people’s intrinsic motivation to do well when their performance on a task like this is tested, we provided an incentive: one in every ten consumers who attended PRICE Lab won a prize, based on their performance. Across a series of these experiments, we were able to test how the accuracy of consumers’ decisions was affected by the number and nature of the product’s characteristics, or ‘attributes’, which they had to take into account in order to distinguish good deals from bad ones. In other words, we were able to study what exactly makes for a ‘complex’ product, in the sense that consumers find it difficult to choose good deals. FINDINGS Overall, across all ten experiments described in this report, we found that consumers’ judgements of the value of products against prices were surprisingly inaccurate. Even when the product was simple, meaning that it consisted of just one clearly perceptible attribute (e.g. the product was worth more when it was larger), consumers required a surplus of around 16-26 per cent of the total price range in order to be able to judge accurately that a deal was a good one rather than a bad one. Put another way, when most people have to map a characteristic of a product onto a range of prices, they are able to distinguish at best between five and seven levels of value (e.g. five levels might be thought of as equivalent to ‘very bad’, ‘bad’, ‘average’, ‘good’, ‘very good’). Furthermore, we found that judgements of products against prices were not only imprecise, but systematically biased. Consumers generally overestimated what products at the top end of the range were worth and underestimated what products at the bottom end of the range were worth, typically by as much as 10-15 per cent and sometimes more. We then systematically increased the complexity of the products, first by adding more attributes, so that the consumers had to take into account, two, three, then four different characteristics of the product simultaneously. One product might be good on attribute A, not so good on attribute B and available at just above the xii | PRICE Lab: An Investigation of Consumers’ Capabilities with Complex Products average price; another might be very good on A, middling on B, but relatively expensive. Each time the consumer’s task was to judge whether the deal was good or bad. We would then add complexity by introducing attribute C, then attribute D, and so on. Thus, consumers had to negotiate multiple trade-offs. Performance deteriorated quite rapidly once multiple attributes were in play. Even the best performers could not integrate all of the product information efficiently – they became substantially more likely to make mistakes. Once people had to consider four product characteristics simultaneously, all of which contributed equally to the monetary value of the product, a surplus of more than half the price range was required for them to identify a good deal reliably. This was a fundamental finding of the present experiments: once consumers had to take into account more than two or three different factors simultaneously their ability to distinguish good and bad deals became strikingly imprecise. This finding therefore offered a clear answer to our primary research question: a product might be considered ‘complex’ once consumers must take into account more than two or three factors simultaneously in order to judge whether a deal is good or bad. Most of the experiments conducted after we obtained these strong initial findings were designed to test whether consumers could improve on this level of performance, perhaps for certain types of products or with sufficient practice, or whether the performance limits uncovered were likely to apply across many different types of product. An examination of individual differences revealed that some people were significantly better than others at judging good deals from bad ones. However the differences were not large in comparison to the overall effects recorded; everyone tested struggled once there were more than two or three product attributes to contend with. People with high levels of numeracy and educational attainment performed slightly better than those without, but the improvement was small. We also found that both the high level of imprecision and systematic bias were not reduced substantially by giving people substantial practice and opportunities to learn – any improvements were slow and incremental. A series of experiments was also designed to test whether consumers’ capability was different depending on the type of product attribute. In our initial experiments the characteristics of the products were all visual (e.g., size, fineness of texture, etc.). We then performed similar experiments where the relevant product information was supplied as numbers (e.g., percentages, amounts) or in categories (e.g., Type A, Rating D, Brand X), to see whether performance might improve. This question is important, as most financial and contractual information is supplied to consumers in a numeric or categorical form. The results showed clearly that the type of product information did not matter for the level of imprecision and bias in consumers’ decisions – the results were essentially the same whether the product attributes were visual, numeric or categorical. What continued to drive performance was how many characteristics the consumer had to judge simultaneously. Thus, our findings were not the result of people failing to perceive or take in information accurately. Rather, the limiting factor in consumers’ capability was how many different factors they had to weigh against each other at the same time. In most of our experiments the characteristics of the product and its monetary value were related by a one-to-one mapping; each extra unit of an attribute added the same amount of monetary value. In other words, the relationships were all linear. Because other findings in behavioural economics suggest that consumers might struggle more with non-linear relationships, we designed experiments to test them. For example, the monetary value of a product might increase more when the amount of one attribute moves from very low to low, than when it moves from high to very high. We found that this made no difference to either the imprecision or bias in consumers’ decisions provided that the relationship was monotonic (i.e. the direction of the relationship was consistent, so that more or less of the attribute always meant more or less monetary value respectively). When the relationship involved a turning point (i.e. more of the attribute meant higher monetary value but only up to a certain point, after which more of the attribute meant less value) consumers’ judgements were more imprecise still. Finally, we tested whether familiarity with the type of product improved performance. In most of the experiments we intentionally used products that were new to the experimental participants. This was done to ensure experimental control and so that we could monitor learning. In the final experiment reported here, we used two familiar products (Dublin houses and residential broadband packages) and tested whether consumers could distinguish good deals from bad deals any better among these familiar products than they could among products that they had never seen before, but which had the same number and type of attributes and price range. We found that consumers’ performance was the same for these familiar products as for unfamiliar ones. Again, what primarily determined the amount of imprecision and bias in consumers’ judgments was the number of attributes that they had to balance against each other, regardless of whether these were familiar or novel. POLICY IMPLICATIONS There is a menu of consumer polices designed to assist consumers in negotiating complex products. A review, including international examples, is given in the main body of the report. The primary aim is often to simplify the consumer’s task. Potential policies, versions of which already exist in various forms and which cover a spectrum of interventionist strength, might include: the provision and endorsement of independent, transparent price comparison websites and other choice engines (e.g. mobile applications, decision software); the provision of high quality independent consumer advice; ‘mandated simplification’, whereby regulations stipulate that providers must present product information in a simplified and standardised format specifically determined by regulation; and more strident interventions such as devising and enforcing prescriptive rules and regulations in relation to permissible product descriptions, product features or price structures. The present findings have implications for such policies. However, while the experimental findings have implications for policy, it needs to be borne in mind that the evidence supplied here is only one factor in determining whether any given intervention in markets is likely to be beneficial. The findings imply that consumers are likely to struggle to choose well in markets with products consisting of multiple important attributes that must all be factored in when making a choice. Interventions that reduce this kind of complexity for consumers may therefore be beneficial, but nothing in the present research addresses the potential costs of such interventions, or how providers are likely to respond to them. The findings are also general in nature and are intended to give insights into consumer choices across markets. There are likely to be additional factors specific to certain markets that need to be considered in any analysis of the costs and benefits of a potential policy change. Most importantly, the policy implications discussed here are not specific to Ireland or to any particular product market. Furthermore, they should not be read as criticisms of existing regulatory regimes, which already go to some lengths in assisting consumers to deal with complex products. Ireland currently has extensive regulations designed to protect consumers, both in general and in specific markets, descriptions of which can be found in Section 9.1 of the main report. Nevertheless, the experiments described here do offer relevant guidance for future policy designs. For instance, they imply that while policies that make it easier for consumers to switch providers may be necessary to encourage active consumers, they may not be sufficient, especially in markets where products are complex. In order for consumers to benefit, policies that help them to identify better deals reliably may also be required, given the scale of inaccuracy in consumers’ decisions that we record in this report when products have multiple important attributes. Where policies are designed to assist consumer decisions, the present findings imply quite severe limits in relation to the volume of information consumers can simultaneously take into account. Good impartial Executive Summary | xv consumer advice may limit the volume of information and focus on ensuring that the most important product attributes are recognised by consumers. The findings also have implications for the role of competition. While consumers may obtain substantial potential benefits from competition, their capabilities when faced with more complex products are likely to reduce such benefits. Pressure from competition requires sufficient numbers of consumers to spot and exploit better value offerings. Given our results, providers with larger market shares may face incentives to increase the complexity of products in an effort to dampen competitive pressure and generate more market power. Where marketing or pricing practices result in prices or attributes with multiple components, our findings imply that consumer choices are likely to become less accurate. Policymakers must of course be careful in determining whether such practices amount to legitimate innovations with potential consumer benefit. Yet there is a genuine danger that spurious complexity can be generated that confuses consumers and protects market power. The results described here provide backing for the promotion and/or provision by policymakers of high-quality independent choice engines, including but not limited to price comparison sites, especially in circumstances where the number of relevant product attributes is high. A longer discussion of the potential benefits and caveats associated with such policies is contained in the main body of the report. Mandated simplification policies are gaining in popularity internationally. Examples include limiting the number of tariffs a single energy company can offer or standardising health insurance products, both of which are designed to simplify the comparisons between prices and/or product attributes. The present research has some implications for what might make a good mandate. Consumer decisions are likely to be improved where a mandate brings to the consumer’s attention the most important product attributes at the point of decision. The present results offer guidance with respect to how many key attributes consumers are able simultaneously to trade off, with implications for the design of standardised disclosures. While bearing in mind the potential for imposing costs, the results also suggest benefits to compulsory ‘meta-attributes’ (such as APRs, energy ratings, total costs, etc.), which may help consumers to integrate otherwise separate sources of information. FUTURE RESEARCH The experiments described here were designed to produce findings that generalise across multiple product markets. However, in addition to the results outlined in this report, the work has resulted in new experimental methods that can be applied to more specific consumer policy issues. This is possible because the methods generate experimental measures of the accuracy of consumers’ decision-making. As such, they can be adapted to assess the quality of consumers’ decisions in relation to specific products, pricing and marketing practices. Work is underway in PRICE Lab that applies these methods to issues in specific markets, including those for personal loans, energy and mobile phones.

The presence of displaced populations generally has positive or neutral economic impacts on host communities but can negatively affect health, education, environment, and security. Effects vary, creating 'winners' and 'losers' among host community segments, often harming disadvantaged groups like women. Labour markets experience mixed impacts, with job competition balanced by increased demand. Prices may rise or fall, while business growth often benefits. Environmental pressures and health system demands typically increase, with security impacts remaining mixed and socially perceived. Social cohesion is contingent on economic conditions and inter-group relations.

While it’s typical to associate right-wing populism in Western Europe with the narrative of Islam versus the Judeo-Christian West, there’s a nuanced and emerging form of civilisationalism that we term "anti-Western civilizational populism." This paper argues that anti-Western civilizational populism is present in the discourse of not only Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but also Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and may be emerging in Israel under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The article finds two key features common to these three different expressions of anti-Western populism across three different religions: The blaming of ‘the West’ for domestic problems is often the result of poor domestic governance, and an accompanying authoritarian, anti-liberal turn justified by the necessity of protecting ‘the people’ from the ‘liberal’ Western powers and defending and/or rejuvenating ‘our’ civilization. As liberalism promotes global cosmopolitanism and religious diversity, non-liberal states perceive it as a threat to their sovereignty and traditional values. Consequently, they push back against Western cultural hegemony, potentially forming an anti-liberal, authoritarian discursive bloc.

Highly concentrated imports can be a source of vulnerability in an environment characterized by geopolitical tensions. In light of this concern, some recently adopted policies aim to dilute advanced economies’ import concentration for key products. Likewise, a tendency towards supplier diversification has been observed in firm surveys. In this paper, we study how countries’ import concentration in a few external providers affects import prices. Import concentration decreased in OECD countries in the last two decades, especially up to the global financial crisis, in the hyper-globalization period. For EU countries, integration in the single market was crucial to foster diversification also beyond the hyper-globalization years. Yet, for a number of strategic goods, imports tend to be more concentrated in geopolitically distant providers. Panel regression analysis based on granular trade data at the country-product level shows that high import concentration is associated with higher import prices, which supports the view that strongly concentrated markets correspond to low levels of competition. This effect tends to be more pronounced when a supplier country’s perceived market power is strong, i.e. for goods whose production is highly concentrated at the global level or for those that a country cannot (fully) produce by itself. The positive relationship between import concentration and import prices is less pronounced in high-technology industries, consistent with the notion that in these sectors a high concentration is also related to the presence of cost-efficiency effects owing to economies of scale. Exclusive trade relations, i.e. those in which the importer sources a product from one provider only, are associated with lower import prices and could therefore be costlier to break.

The Advisory Committee on Social Sciences (ACSS) was established by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to bring social science expertise to the Agency’s pursuit of food safety, food authenticity, and regulatory excellence. In fulfilling its remit, the Agency needs advice from a wide range of expertise, and this includes insights from disciplines such as behavioural science and economics as much as from the medical, agricultural, and animal health domains. It is crucial to understand how we as consumers, as well as the industries that feed us, might adapt our behaviours, perceive risks or alter our purchasing patterns. Climate Change is now widely accepted as one of the gravest risks facing human well-being, not least because of its possible effects on the food system. These effects could be radical and sudden and are inherently unpredictable. At the same time, humans are extraordinarily adaptable and innovative, and so responses to this threat are also unpredictable. Many people are already ‘doing their bit’ towards the ‘Net Zero’ aspiration by adapting their diet, changing their consumption patterns, or striving to avoid waste. As one of the many governmental bodies concerned with food supply the FSA has a strong interest in horizon scanning likely responses to climate change and understanding where it might impact its work. The ACSS therefore offered to help with this large task and formed a Working Group on Climate Change and Consumer Behaviours (CCCB). We were fortunate to be able to begin our work by hosting a workshop with experts in the field to illuminate the trends already being observed, or considered possible. Following this we then convened a group of colleagues across the FSA to deepen understanding of how the identified trends might impact on food safety, food authenticity and regulation. We took as our initial scope end consumers (rather than the businesses that serve them), and we looked for behaviours that appear to be ones that consumers have adopted to respond to the Net Zero call. The concepts of ‘choice’ and ‘preference’ in relation to behaviour is complex, as much behaviour does not follow choice or preference. In future, climate change may bring about changes to food availability and price that mean that choices are constrained. Equally, consumer preferences may feed back into the supply chain, and lead to a degree of choice ‘editing’ by food businesses. These complexities are beyond our scope for the moment, but, as experts participating in our workshop emphasized, must be considered. To get the full value of the expertise we were able to assemble, and the added value from our consultants, Ipsos UK who constructed and ran the first workshop, it is important to read the full report. It is also important to go directly to the centres of expertise for the insights that surfaced, but that we could only dip into and summarise. In this overview, the CCCB working group wants to highlight what we felt were some of the most interesting lines of enquiry, which are shown in table 1 below. We have to stress that these are possible trends of concern to the FSA, not necessarily with already observable effects, and more work needs to be done to explore them. We are conscious that the Science Council also has a WG on Net Zero, with a wider scope than that of the ACSS, and we are closely in touch to ensure that the work is complementary. I would therefore like to commend the work of the ACSS CCCB working group to the FSA, and we look forward to discussing how we can be of further help. I would also like to wholeheartedly thank everyone involved in making the workshops such stimulating and insightful exercises.

We construct new measures of country risk and sentiment as perceived by global investors and executives using textual analysis of the quarterly earnings calls of publicly listed firms around the world. Our quarterly measures cover 45 countries from 2002-2020. We use our measures to provide a novel characterization of country risk and to provide a harmonized definition of crises. We demonstrate that elevated perceptions of a country's riskiness are associated with significant falls in local asset prices and capital outflows, even after global financial conditions are controlled for. Increases in country risk are associated with reductions in firm-level investment and employment. We also show direct evidence of a novel type of contagion, where foreign risk is transmitted across borders through firm-level exposures. Exposed firms suffer falling market valuations and significantly retrench their hiring and investment in response to crises abroad. Finally, we provide direct evidence that heterogeneous currency loadings on global risk help explain the cross-country pattern of interest rates and currency risk premia.

Economic diversification is an incessant theme threading policy discussion in Trinidad and Tobago, although with an ebb and flow over time. This topic is once again at the forefront of policy discussions following the recent oil price decline and subsequent to the new administration that took office in September 2015. This policy brief discusses the potential role that the exchange rate plays in diversification, fiscal adjustment and economic growth. In doing so we use a new estimation of the real effective exchange rate that better captures competitiveness of the country's non-oil exports. The evidence assembled in this policy brief suggests that the exchange rate could have an important role in fiscal adjustment, economic growth, and diversification. We find that a major change in the exchange rate would reduce the size of the fiscal adjustment in the short term. It would boost diversification of non-energyexport products and their markets over the medium term, hence spur economic growth and employment. Presumably, there are perceived short-term downsides. These include (i) an inflationary effect which implies reduced household real income and hence a possible increase in poverty, and (ii), increased cost of imported material used as inputs in production, which compounded by microeconomic level balance sheet effects that arise in the presence of liability dollarisation that also leads to negative impacts of real exchange rate devaluations on firms' performance.

International trade increases aggregate welfare but also creates winners and losers, which makes free trade a contentious political issue. Recent research has established that individuals are more sensitive to anti-trade information about the prospect of employment loss than to pro-trade information regarding lower product prices and increased variety. This means that we know what works to decrease support for trade, but it is still unclear what works to increase it. In this paper, we fill this gap by studying how individual attitudes and beliefs change in response to information regarding employment losses (in import-competing sectors), to information regarding employment gains (in export-oriented sectors), and to information regarding the possibility of compensation to those displaced by trade. To this end, we conducted a large scale survey experiment in eighteen Latin American countries using nationally representative samples. Results indicate that anti-trade information reduces support for trade even if compensation to losers is mentioned and that pro-trade messages increase support only if they are worded so that a job gain is perceived. Belief updating about the consequences of increased trade on employment seems to be a relevant mechanism. Our findings have important implications on what types of messaging work to increase support for trade.