The Willingness to Pay for GM Food among Thai Consumers and Students

Abstract

This study aims to quantify and compare Thai consumers’ and students’ willingness to pay for GM food.  One hundred and thirty participants joined the laboratory experiment, where the random nth-price auction was employed to elicit their demands.  Specifically, subjects had to bid for three food items, under various labeling policies.  Controversial issues from the current GM labeling regulation in Thailand namely, the mandatory labeling and the threshold levels, have been explored.  The results find no statistical difference between students’ and consumers’ bids.  In addition, both groups generally have negative attitude towards GM food, although students assign higher discount to GM food than consumers.  When subjects do not significantly value GM-free label and do not view dissimilar threshold levels as different, the current regulation on mandatory labeling and the 5% threshold level is supported.