Content of research

People engage in economic activities every day, such as purchasing products and deciding what to do for recreation. Elucidating and predicting the factors that influence economic behavior is information that is needed both in academia and practice. The analysis of economic behavior is generally based on statistical data and other data that record actual past behavior, but the necessary data is not always available. In such cases, the stated preference method is useful for collecting and analyzing data by asking questions designed based on economic theory to target people. In addition to conducting empirical research using the stated preference method mainly in agricultural and rural areas (although the scope of application of this method is not limited to agricultural and rural areas), we have developed and released a software package for the data analysis environment R that can be freely used by anyone who is interested in practicing the stated preference method.

Potential for social implementation

• ・Farm manager evaluation of agricultural technology
• ・Evaluation of the environmental value of agriculture and rural areas
• ・Consumer assessment of food safety
• ・Consumer evaluation of local products
• ・Resident evaluation of regional plans

Appealing points to industry and local governments

The stated preference method can be used for various questionnaire surveys related to people's decision-making, such as consumer evaluation of a new product that is developed by a company, or resident evaluation of a regional plan that is being considered by a local government. However, to statistically analyze the results, a certain number of respondents is required. If you allow us to use the data for research, we may be able to cooperate with you as a joint researcher.