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The fish and seafood market in the Midwestern region of the United Statesis currently dominated by frozen products. Fish producers in the region may be able to market their products as fresh, regionally grown and farmed fish. Fish producers may be able to supply fresh fish products that have not been previously frozen but preserved fresh with ice. The study examined retailers’ willingness to pay more for Midwestern fresh fish adopting the literature on consumers’ willingness to pay for market services or products, assuming that retailers understand their customers, and that they are able to add any premiums paid for to their retail prices. The overall probability of retailers paying more for regionally grown fresh-on-ice fish is low though consistency in supply and sourcing out of state positively affected the probability to pay more. In spite of these positive factors on willingness to pay more for Midwestern fresh-on-ice fish, Midwestern fish producers would probably remain non-competitive in the fresh-on-ice fish market in the short and medium term, and should continue to focus on the live market.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify how consumption of 12 goods – alcohol, cigarettes, fast food, items sold at vending machines, purchases of food away from home, cookies, cakes, chips, candy, donuts, bacon, and carbonated soft drinks – varies across the income distribution by calculating their income-expenditure elasticites. Design/methodology/approach Data on 22,681 households from 2009-2012 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey were used. The data were analyzed using ordinary least squares regressions and Cragg’s double hurdle model which integrates a binary model to determine the decision to consume and a truncated normal model to estimate the effects for conditional (y>0) consumption. Findings Income had the greatest effect on expenditures for alcohol (0.314), food away from home (0.295), and fast food (0.284). A one percentage-point increase in income (approximately $428 at the mean) translated into a 0.314 percentage-point increase in spending on alcoholic beverages (approximately $1 annually at the mean). Income had the smallest influence on tobacco expenditures (0.007) and donut expenditures (−0.009). Research limitations/implications Percentage of a household’s discretionary budget spent on the studied goods falls substantially as income gets larger. Policies targeting the consumption of such goods will disproportionately impact lower income households. Originality/value This is the first manuscript to calculate income-expenditure elasticities for the goods studied. The results allow for a direct analysis of targeted consumption policy on household budgets across the income distribution.

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