Research

Abstract

Dietary choices contribute to one's environmental footprint and shape social identity. Evidence suggests that adopting plant-based diets (i.e., vegetarianism and veganism) may solve some environmental, health, and animal welfare issues. Yet, this decision leads to the formation of a social identity and out-group bias referred to as vegephobia. In this paper, I provide a first measure of the presence of vegephobia using social preferences in an online experimental economic environment. I estimate inequity aversion parameters of omnivore dictators (i.e., meat eaters) contingent on their matched partner's dietary identity and test for the presence of vegephobia (pre-registered hypotheses). I also elicit recipients' expectations of discriminatory behaviors. Confirmatory results reject the presence of vegephobia in the economic environment. Further exploratory results reveal some vegephobia driven by the dictators' personal characteristics and social environments. Paradoxically, vegans report experiencing vegephobia but expect pro-social choices from out-group members. The results imply that vegephobia might be context-specific and that the mechanisms are not captured by individuals' social preferences. 

Abstract

The distribution of published scientific evidence is biased. There is accumulating evidence of the frequent use of questionable publishing practices and questionable research practices, and current solutions are limited (e.g., pre-registration). This has important undesirable consequences for policy-oriented areas such as agricultural economics. In this article, we discuss a potential solution: Registered Reports. We first provide an overview of the Registered Report publication format. We demonstrate how Registered Reports outperform pre-registration, while also efficiently contributing to reducing questionable research practices, canceling questionable publishing practices, and providing more reliable results that can inform evidence-based policymaking. Second, we present a benchmark of Registered Reports in economics today and discuss potential barriers using survey data from economic journal editors. Lastly, we highlight the importance of developing the Registered Report publication format in agricultural economics.

Abstract

Dairy calf welfare is receiving increasing public attention. To ensure optimal practices, farmers need to engage and be mindful of unethical behavior. However, avoiding information on animal welfare is common and often driven by willful ignorance. We conduct an exploratory analysis on survey data from 546 Irish dairy farmers. We investigate farmers' choice to view a picture of transported dairy calves and find that over 20% of farmers prefer to remain in a state of ignorance. Higher self-reported calf mortality and education increase the odds of viewing the picture while being a female decreases them. Farmers' reasons for avoiding include the lack of new information in the picture, anticipated negative feelings, and biased information expectations. Additional explorations suggest that the farmers' decision is not a survey artifact, but the results are not robust and further research is needed to confirm. Possible suggestions to improve calf welfare are to foster farmers' trust, package information as new evidence on best calf-rearing practices, and better understand perceptions of animal welfare.

Keywords: Animal welfare, Dairy calves, Willful ignorance, Survey experiment, Exploratory analysis

JEL: D83,  Q12,  Q18

Abstract

Shifting to plant-based diets can alleviate many of the externalities associated with the current food system. Spontaneous shifts in diet are often hindered by consumers’ imperfect knowledge about the health risks and benefits, which leads them to seek advice from their doctors. However, doctors have often had only limited nutrition training, and often express negative opinions of plant-based diets, even though recent evidence suggests that they confer substantial health benefits. We here explore whether providing doctors (general practitioners) with information about the risks and benefits of plant-based diets significantly changes their attitudes and medical practices. We run a survey experiment on a representative sample of French doctors and assess the impact of an information campaign developed by doctors to inform their colleagues about plant-based nutrition through case studies. Our confirmatory analysis shows that our information campaign effectively changes doctors’ views about plant-based diets (Cohen’s d: 0.71). To a smaller extent, we find a positive but not statistically nor economically significant effect of the intervention on the doctors’ (hypothetical) medical practice with patients who follow a plant-based diet (Cohen’s d: 0.22). 

Keywords: Plant-based diet, Doctors, Information campaign, Veganism, Healthy diet, Sustainable diet

JEL:  Q18, Q5, D83

Abstract

The current publication system in economics has encouraged the inflation of positive results in empirical papers. Registered Reports, also called Pre-Results Reviews, are a new submission format for empirical work that take pre-registration one step further. In Registered Reports, researchers write their paper before running the study and commit to a detailed data collection process and analysis plan. After a first-stage review, a journal can give an In-Principle- Acceptance guaranteeing that the paper will be published if the authors carry out their data collection and analysis as pre-specified. We here propose a practical guide to Registered Reports for empirical economists. We illustrate the major problems that Registered Reports address (p- hacking, HARKing, forking, and publication bias), and present practical guidelines on how to write and review Registered Reports (e.g., the data-analysis plan, power analysis, and correction for multiple-hypothesis testing), with R and STATA codes. We provide specific examples for experimental economics, and show how research design can be improved to maximize statistical power. Last, we discuss some tools that authors, editors and referees can use to evaluate Registered Reports (checklist, study-design table, and quality assessment). 

Keywords: Registered Reports, Practical guide, Pre-registration, p-hacking, HARKing, Multiple-hypothesis testing, Power analysis, The smallest effect size of interest

JEL:  A10, C12, C9

Abstract

Pre-registration is gaining prominence in the quest for more credible research in economics. Largely perceived as an important tool and quality signal, I argue that poorly executed pre-registration leads to asymmetrical information and adverse effects. Current inconsistent standards increase degrees of freedom and pose challenges for reviewers and editors in evaluating pre-registration quality. In this paper, I introduce two comprehensive templates for economic studies using primary or secondary data. The templates compile the latest open science practices with references and can be used by researchers when pre-registering a study and by reviewers and editors during peer review. The templates surpass existing online alternatives, allow to report ex-post deviations, and aim to standardize practices in economics. To support implementation, I supply a web-based app to fill the templates, generate PDF documents, and store time-stamped documents. Last, I identify scenarios where pre-registration is most appropriate and discuss limitations.

Abstract 

The worldwide effort to combat climate change has highlighted the substantial impact of animal-based foods on global warming. Yet, most people oppose switching to plant-based diets and underestimate the benefits of sustainable diets. In contrast, other behaviors, such as limiting car journeys, are more widely accepted. In this paper, we explore carbon offsetting as an alternative option to reduce unavoidable emissions. Using an Irish representative sample (N=596) in a charity dictator game, we study the causal effect of providing information about greenhouse gas emissions from dairy, meat, or cars on people’s carbon offsetting choices. We find that participants donate on average 58% of their experimental endowment. Focusing on the determinants of carbon offsetting, we observe that concern about climate change drives donations and that demographics matter. However, providing dairy and meat-related information about greenhouse gases does not increase donations to offset carbon. In fact, informing about food-related emissions decreases donations in comparison to car-related information, which is mostly driven by meat-related information. Overall, the results suggest that people are willing to contribute to carbon offsetting projects but that informing about climate-related issues, especially meat, is tricky and can lead to adverse effects. 

Keywords: Dairy and meat consumption, charity dictator game, carbon offsetting, climate change

JEL:  Q50, D83

Abstract 

Last winter, farmers protested across Europe. In Germany, farmers opposed governmental plans to abolish tax reliefs for agricultural diesel and vehicles. While the financial impact on individual farms appears manageable, the protests reflected broader dissatisfaction within the sector. We analyze factors explaining farmers’ participation and support of the protests based on an online survey of over 300 German farmers. We assess farmers’ estimated additional costs due to the tax cuts, their satisfaction with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), farm and farmer characteristics, and protest reasons. By grouping farmers based on participation and support, we find significant differences in relation to cost estimates, farm size, and full-time farming. Regression results indicate that farmers across all farm systems and sizes participated in the demonstrations and supported the protests. While the financial impact of the tax cuts is generally overestimated, it does not drive participation in or support for the protests. Higher CAP satisfaction is negatively associated with support. Throughout our sample, we find agreement on key grievances such as administrative burdens, low incomes, and imports. Overall, the protests reveal deep-rooted frustrations beyond immediate financial triggers, emphasizing the need for structural reforms that balance economic viability of farms with sustainability goals.  

Keywords: Farmers’ Protests, Common Agricultural Policy, Financial Impact

Abstract coming soon 

More information will be available as the project evolves.

Abstract coming soon 

More information will be available as the project evolves.