Producers of many commodities pay for generic advertising, which is a public good for producers and, in cases like healthy foods, enhances social welfare. Though most programs were initially funded through the Voluntary Contribution Mechanism, many became mandatory to mitigate free riding. This...

Production labeling is a common approach for differentiating otherwise similar products in the marketplace. While these labels may convey positive messages to consumers about the new product, they may simultaneously stigmatize the conventionally produced product by highlighting perceived...

A generalized methodology for estimating irreversible functions is developed. This approach, which accommodates short-term irreversibility and long-term reversibility, is an improvement over previous irreversibility studies that imposed both short- and long-term irreversibility. Using the...

A time-varying parameter model of fluid milk and cheese demand reveals that changes in age composition, race composition, and food spending patterns away from home were most important to changes in generic advertising response over time. Advertising response elasticities indicate that generic...

This article provides an overview of mandated commodity programs in California, and summarizes and interprets existing evidence on their economic impacts. The analysis draws upon the recent book edited by the authors: The Economics of Commodity Promotion Programs: Lessons from California. New...

The mandatory nature of check-off programs remains a contentious policy issue. A provision point mechanism with a money-back guarantee offers an attractive, alternative voluntary funding approach, yet faces the problem of how to maintain future administrative capacity should contributions fall...

Using a lab experiment with 351 adult non-student subjects, we investigate the impact of labels and secondary information on willingness to pay (WTP) for foods that use various ingredients and processes that have been the subject of food policy discussions. We find a distinct asymmetry of WTP...