Identifying Food Labeling Effects on Consumer Behavior

We take advantage of the gradual implementation of a comprehensive mandatory food labeling regulation introduced in Chile to identify its effects on consumer behavior. Using individual-level scandata from transactions in a big-box supermarket, we estimate a demand model for differentiated products i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inIDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc
Main Authors Araya, Sebastián, Elberg, Andrés, Noton, Carlos, Schwartz, Daniel
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 01.01.2018
Subjects
Consumer behavior
Descriptive labeling
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:We take advantage of the gradual implementation of a comprehensive mandatory food labeling regulation introduced in Chile to identify its effects on consumer behavior. Using individual-level scandata from transactions in a big-box supermarket, we estimate a demand model for differentiated products in which a food label indicator captures the warning label effect. We find sizable effects on juices and cereals, but no impact on chocolates & candies and cookies. Our results are consistent with the information disclosure being effective only when information is unexpected. Key words: