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Does Health Information Matter for Modifying Consumption? A Field Experiment Measuring the Impact of Risk Information on Fish Consumption
Author(s) -
Roosen Jutta,
Marette Stéphan,
Blanchemanche Sandrine,
Verger Philippe
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
applied economic perspectives and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.4
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 2040-5804
pISSN - 2040-5790
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.01423.x
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , fish <actinopterygii> , fish consumption , field (mathematics) , business , fishery , environmental science , mathematics , biology , social science , sociology , pure mathematics
A field experiment was conducted in France to evaluate the impact of health information on fish consumption. A warning revealed the risks of methyl mercury contamination in fish and gave consumption recommendations. A difference‐in‐differences estimation shows that this warning led to a statistically significant but relatively weak decrease in fish consumption. Consumption of the most contaminated fish did not decrease despite advice to avoid consumption of these fish. Accompanying questionnaires show that consumers imperfectly recall the fish species quoted in the warning. The results suggest a relatively poor efficacy of a complex health message, despite its use by several national health agencies.