A theoretical and empirical investigation of nutritional label use

Andreas Drichoutis, Panagiotis Lazaridis, Rodolfo Nayga, Maria Kapsokefalou, Georgios Chryssochoidis

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66 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Due in part to increasing diet-related health problems caused, among others, by obesity, nutritional labelling has been considered important, mainly because it can provide consumers with information that can be used to make informed and healthier food choices. Several studies have focused on the empirical perspective of nutritional label use. None of these studies, however, have focused on developing a theoretical economic model that would adequately describe nutritional label use based on a utility theoretic framework. We attempt to fill this void by developing a simple theoretical model of nutritional label use, incorporating the time a consumer spends reading labels as part of the food choice process. The demand equations of the model are then empirically tested. Results suggest the significant role of several variables that flow directly from the model which, to our knowledge, have not been used in any previous empirical work.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)293-304
Number of pages12
JournalThe European Journal of Health Economics
Volume9
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

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