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The use of the contingent-valuation method for determining willingness to pay for non-market or currently available health care services continues to be experimental. In this study, the contingent-valuation method was used to calculate willingness-to-pay estimates for a proposed change in the Israeli health care system. It was found that the willingness-to-pay estimates calculated in the Israel study were reasonable and that the methodology is able to adapt to the special nature of the health care commodity while adhering to the conditions for reliability and validity in a contingent-valuation study.

Food loss and waste (FLW) issues are receiving heightened attention from local, national, and international governments and nongovernmental organizations. While research in the FLW space is growing rapidly, economists have important contributions to make to the FLW conversation. In this paper we discuss the opportunities and challenges in conducting economic research on FLW. We highlight some of the more technical opportunities and challenges related to data, measurement, and evaluation of FLW reduction initiatives as these are often focal points in the current FLW literature. In addition, we discuss the notion of optimal FLW, which has been mostly absent from the policy discussion to date. Economic analyses can help contribute towards identifying market failures that support the need for FLW interventions, estimating the costs and benefits of FLW interventions, and clearly identifying the winners and losers of potential mandatory requirements to reduce FLW.