Political attitudes and religious beliefs can shape US consumers’ willingness to pay for food products imported from other countries, a study has found. 

These were among the findings of New Insights into Country of Origin Labeling (COOL): The Effects of Nationalism, Patriotism, and Xenophobia, a working paper from the Marketing Science Institute (MSI), a unit of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). It was based on an online survey of 10,049 consumers in the US.

Why it matters

National attitudes and sentiments, such as political and religious beliefs can influence consumers’ willingness to pay and therefore must be considered when...