Preferences for Sustainability and Supply Chain Essential Worker Conditions: Survey Evidence during COVID-19

AAEA members publish new research in AEPP

One of the many side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increase in discussions about the environment and working conditions. When the shelter-in-place orders shut down economies, traffic levels plummeted, affecting air quality. At the same time, calls for increased protections for essential workers went viral across the globe due to outbreaks of COVID-19 within supply chains.

In the new article “Preferences for Sustainability and Supply Chain Essential Worker Conditions: Survey Evidence during COVID-19” Jackie Copfer, Nica Campbell, and Sofia Villas-Boas from the University of California, Berkeley, ask if consumers value sustainability and safe working conditions, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Campbell says, “While a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis also requires data on the cost (possibly involving technological changes) in production, our findings have policy implications in that they suggest there to be at least a demand-side, market-based potential to nudge certain segments of consumers, but not all, who want to follow a more sustainable diet as well as choose products produced by workers in safer settings.”

If you are interested in setting up an interview, please contact Allison Ware in the AAEA Business Office.

ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes two journals, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices and the online open access publication series Applied Economics Teaching Resources. To learn more, visit www.aaea.org.

Contact: Allison Ware
Senior Communications Manager
(414) 918-3190
Email: aware@aaea.org