IMPACTS OF SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES ON THE IMPLICIT VALUES OF BREAKFAST CEREAL CHARACTERISTICS

The implicit values of nutrient and nonnutrient characteristics of breakfast cereal were estimated using the 1987-88 household portion of the USDA's Nationwide Food Consumption Survey data. The effects of sociodemographic variables on cereal characteristic values were also estimated. The conceptual framework of the hedonic price model, used for food products, has traditionally focused on the nutritional characteristics of these products. This framework was extended to incorporate nonnutritional characteristics. Findings indicate that consumers' sociodemographic characteristics significantly affect the implicit values of both nutritional and nonnutritional cereal characteristics. Results generally met with prior expectations.