Good Taste Tastes Good. Cultural Capital as a Determinant of Organic Food Purchase by Italian Consumers: Evidence and Policy Implications

Abstract

Policy actions in support of organic food chain productions have so far focused on the supply side, whereas poor attention has been paid to the demand side, despite the growing interest in consumers' attitudes toward organic food. With the prospect of a future slowing down of the demand for organic products, specific demand-side policy measures are called for. Building on interdisciplinary research on the determinants of organic food purchases, we argue that cultural capital is a relevant, so far overlooked driver of organic food purchase. We apply a Heckman two-step selection strategy approach to microdata from the latest sample annual survey by the Italian National Institute of Statistics. We find that participation in cultural activities has a positive impact on the inclination to purchase organic products, to an extent that depends on the social orientation of each cultural activity. Some policy implications are derived.