Economics and Psychology of Food Consumptions

The course proposes two groups of objectives developed within the two modules in which it is structured.
Economics of food consumption: knowing the main elements of economic theory for the analysis of the agri-food market, knowing how the agri-food supply chains are articulated, and knowing the policies of public intervention related to the main problems of the food system.
Psychology of food consumption: knowing the individual and symbolic factors that influence consumer actions in order to be able to predict future behavior, learn about scientific and experimental procedures aimed at studying consumer reactions to different stimuli represented by food products.

At the end of the course the student will be able to understand and critically examine the main economic problems of the food market and develop analytical skills regarding the main instruments of public intervention, from information policies to taxation policies.
Furthermore, the student will be able to use both traditional (based on questionnaires) and innovative (eye-tracking, neuropsychophysiological surveys, analysis of the emotional expressions of the face) techniques to identify consumer reactions to food products.