Speaker: Prof. H. Holly Wang

Time: 14:00-15:30 p.m., May 29, 2023, GMT+8

Venue: Koushare platform (scan the QR code and register before the lecture)


Abstract:

Against the background of the recent deglobalization, political conflicts between countries are more frequent, and political consumption incidents are on the rise, causing disruptions in the market. This study examines consumers' willingness-to-pay (WTP) in China, South Korea, and the United States (U.S.), for a product using non-Xinjiang cotton after a political conflict over Xinjiang cotton, with the aim to understand the political consumption behaviors of consumers in these countries. A total of 1,770 samples (590 per country) were collected using a hypothetical double-bounded dichotomized choice experiment to elicit the highest bids for imported cotton socks. Consumer WTP by country was estimated, and the degree of consumer boycott/buycott was measured. The results show that Chinese consumers have the lowest WTP for non-Xinjiang cotton socks, indicating their tendency to boycott foreign cotton products. In contrast, consumers in the U.S. and South Korea tend to support non-Xinjiang cotton products. Koreans, as bystanders of the conflict, exhibited buycott behavior during the conflict, suggesting that political conflicts can influence the behavior of consumers in other countries. In addition, we analyzed the factors that may influence political consumption. The study expands our understanding of consumer political consumption behavior. Moreover, it provides a basis for the industry to cope with market turmoil and build sustainable marketing strategies.

Biography:

Dr. H. Holly Wang is a professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University. She is a AAEA fellow and served as editors in Food Policy and China Agricultural Economic Review. She has served as the President of Chinese Economists Society. Her research areas include consumer behavior, food safety, E-Commerce, commodity market, agricultural risks and insurance, rural development, environmental and agricultural interface applied to multiple countries in the world.  Her recent research has focused on consumer preferences of food especially in China, using state-of-the-art experimental methods. She has published over 120 articles in peer reviewed journals.

Source: School of Modern Agriculture