Department of Land Management and Systems

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https://hdl.handle.net/10182/44

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 452
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    Leave the milk for the calf and spread the word: Exploring factors determining US consumers’ willingness to try plant-based milk alternatives and their word-of-mouth sharing about plant-based milk alternatives
    (MDPI, 2024-06) Rombach, Meike; Cong, Lei; Dean, David
    Plant-based milk alternatives are important beverages in US consumer markets. Sustainability, consumer awareness, lifestyle changes, and other value-based reasons are why these beverages are increasing in popularity. The present study is focused on plant-based milk alternatives. It builds on an online consumer survey that explores the factors explaining US consumers’ willingness to try plant-based milk alternatives and their word-of-mouth sharing about these beverages. Animal welfare concerns, environmental concerns, health consciousness, and dairy preferences are the factors under investigation. Results show that animal welfare, dairy preference, environmental concerns, and plant-based milk enthusiasm are significant predictors for willingness to try plant-based milk alternatives. Dairy preferences, environmental concerns, and plant-based milk enthusiasm predict the word-of-mouth factors. Overall, plant-based milk enthusiasm is the strongest driver for both consumer behaviours. Best practice recommendations address marketers in the US food and beverage industry and provide suggestions on how to target different consumer groups based on nutritional preferences and needs and on value-based product characteristics.
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    The reverse mortgage market in New Zealand: Key drivers of loan determination
    (Taylor & Francis, 2024-03-29) Hutchison, N; MacGregor, B; Ngo, T; Squires, Graham; Webber, DJ
    This paper examines the drivers of loan principals in the reverse mortgage and equity release market in New Zealand using a hedonic price model (HPM) approach. Our analysis using reverse mortgages data between 2004–2021, sourced from one major reverse mortgage bank, provides four key findings. First, the term of payment for repaid reverse mortgages is positively associated with loan principals, implying that longer repayment terms allow applicants who were able to repay mortgages to borrow more. Second, there is partial evidence to suggest the presence of a positive linear impact of the value of the current property on its loan principal, in line with previous house price modelling studies. Third, older applicants (age 75+) borrow less than younger applicants, which may be due to their repaying ability. Fourth, we confirm a positive effect of interest rates on reverse mortgage amounts but reject the positive association between wider loan-to-value policy restrictions and equity release lending amounts. The results broadly highlight that the house price is more relevant than any individual characteristic of a property in determining loan principals, and that all drivers are relevant in the early stage of the development of the reverse mortgages market in New Zealand.
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    Land banking, land price and Ghana's informal land markets: A relational complexity approach
    (Elsevier, 2024-06) Sasu, A; Javed, A; Imran, M; Squires, Graham
    Land banking practices have received little attention on how such practices shape informal land markets in developing countries. Drawing on a relational complexity framework, this study explores the land banking experience in Ghana's informal land markets. This research conducted semi-structured interviews with over thirty participants from four communities within the Ghanaian informal land market. The analysis revealed that developers are banking large tracts of land as capital investments through land dispositions. The absence of development on these banked lands has created a situation where developers are gradually influencing land prices. The analysis also shows that developers have created complex ongoing relationships with customary land managers. This coalition relationship has shaped land prices through the displacement of state-mediated statutory powers for land exchanges. The study recommends revisiting of stakeholder discussions on the enforcement and monitoring of the processes required under the Ghanaian Lands Commission guidelines for large-scale land transactions.
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    Finding nori—Understanding key factors driving US consumers’ commitment for sea-vegetable products
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2024-03-01) Rombach, Meike; Botero, J; Dean, David
    The trend toward sustainable and healthy food consumption has stimulated widespread debate. US consumers demand healthy and sustainable food options and are increasingly interested in alternative proteins such as macro-algae, also known as sea-vegetables. The present study is built on the responses of an online survey aiming to explore US consumers’ commitment towards varying sea-vegetable-based products. Affordability, sustainability, taste, environmental friendliness, and health benefits, as well as product novelty and versatility, were the factors under investigation. All factors were found to be equally strong predictors for sea-vegetable product commitment. Best-practice recommendations for US food marketers and agricultural producers are also provided.
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    The role of the state in encouraging the supply of senior housing: Housing-with-care and retirement villages in Scotland and New Zealand
    (2023-01-15) Fyfe, A; Hutchison, N; Squires, Graham
    The inexorable increase in the demand for senior housing across all countries is well recognised with attention focusing on supply side responses. Adopting a welfare perspective, this paper considers whether leaving the supply of housing-with-care to the market alone will achieve optimal societal outcomes or lead to the under provision of senior housing. The level of state intervention in senior housing markets is considered employing a comparative approach of the experience in Scotland and New Zealand. State interventions were analysed in the areas of planning, property law and social care integration. The evidence would suggest that the market in New Zealand is more regulated than is the case in Scotland, thus enabling developers and investors to operate and invest with greater confidence, resulting in higher levels of supply. Given the current shortfall in appropriate age-related accommodation in Scotland this leads to the conclusion that the Scottish government needs to intervene more proactively in the market to stimulate and direct construction activity if a senior housing crisis is to be avoided.