RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Which Benefits Would Make Farmers Happier, and Which Would they Choose?
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 112321-0139R
DO 10.3368/le.99.3.112321-0139R
A1 Ocean, Neel
A1 Howley, Peter
YR 2022
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/early/2022/11/17/le.99.3.112321-0139R.abstract
AB We presented six novel farming vignettes to UK farmers that describe trade-offs between pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits. What farmers would choose corresponds with what they think would make them happier, which supports the use of subjective well-being as a proxy for decision utility in agricultural research. Where a disparity between choice and well-being does exist, farmers seem willing to trade happiness for pecuniary benefits. Our results also suggest that farmers often trade pecuniary gains for non-pecuniary benefits. The utility derived from non-pecuniary benefits may help to explain farmer behaviours such as unsubsidised environmental improvements, and reluctance to adopt efficiency-enhancing technologies.