Consumer Willingness-to-Pay for GM Food Products in Italy

Abstract

This paper evaluates consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) for food products obtained through the application of biotechnology using data collected from a consumer survey in Italy in 1999. Survey results show that consumers have a low degree of knowledge of the issue, but an overall positive attitude towards genetically modified (GM) foods. Estimation results of an ordered probit model suggest that WTP is mainly affected by income and information.