Conference Agenda

Food waste is a major economic, social, and environmental problem, yet evidence on consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) to prevent food waste in incentivized settings remains limited. We study this question in an experiment that elicits WTP using a novel incentive-compatible mechanism. Participants make decisions for six food products, three basic and three luxury, in two treatments: saving food for personal consumption or saving food and donating it to a local food bank. The within-subject design allows us to compare self-interest and altruistic motivations while controlling for individual heterogeneity. We find that participants are generally willing to pay to prevent food waste, with substantial variation across products and treatments. WTP is significantly lower for luxury items when food is donated rather than consumed personally, whereas differences are smaller for basic food items. Female participants and individuals with higher measured altruism exhibit higher WTP, particularly in the food bank treatment. The results highlight the importance of altruism and perceived appropriateness in food waste prevention decisions.