About

Dr. Lisa House is a Professor and Department Chair in the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida. She also serves as Co-Director of the Florida Agricultural Market Research Center. Her teaching includes classes in agribusiness marketing and management, world agriculture, and survey research methods. She has served as both Undergraduate and Graduate Coordinator and was named the Advisor of the Year for CALS and UF in 2007-08. Dr. House has earned teaching awards from the Southern Agricultural Economics Association, the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, particularly understanding the effects of consumer attitudes, tastes, and preferences on Florida agriculture. She and her colleagues conduct research related to consumer behavior and the challenges facing the agricultural industry in producing healthy food while predicting consumer reactions to changing technologies and information. This includes research on consumer acceptance of foods produced with biotechnology, trade-offs related to price, country of origin, and food attributes, as well as how consumers interpret information on food packaging to inform policy and business decisions. Dr. House also studies survey research methods to improve data collection techniques, relying heavily on data collected directly from consumers. She works closely with the Florida fruit and vegetable industry, especially the Florida Department of Citrus, to provide current insights into consumer preferences and attitudes towards Florida food products.

Research topics

• Economics
• Business
• Medicine
• Environmental health
• Psychology
• Advertising
• Political Science
• Biology
• Geography
• Marketing
• Socioeconomics
• Natural resource economics
• Fishery
• Chemistry
• Ecology
• Food science
• Economic growth
• Mathematics
• Microeconomics

Selected publications

• How Consumer Demand for Orange Juice Changed: Price Elasticities by Process Type, 2022/23–2023/24

  DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · 2026-05-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This study analyzes consumer responses to price changes in 100% orange juice during the 2022/23–2023/24 seasons. Using Nielsen sales data and a demand model, we estimate price elasticities for Not from Concentrate (NFC) and Reconstituted (Recon) juices. Both types showed elastic demand, with Recon being more price-sensitive. Cross-price elasticity estimates indicate that NFC and Recon are substitutes, but with asymmetric substitution: consumers are more likely to switch to Recon when NFC prices rise than vice versa. As the price gap between the two narrowed, consumers increasingly favored NFC over Recon. These findings highlight the importance of pricing in shaping demand and substitution behavior.

  PublisherDOI

• Nudging local: Do information treatments work?

  Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association · 2025-07-17

  articleOpen access

  Abstract This study examines how information nudges shape consumer preferences for locally grown foods. Using an online discrete choice experiment with blueberries, we assess the effectiveness of tailored information emphasizing local economy support, quality, and environmental benefits in increasing consumer valuation of state‐branded products. Results indicate that consumers respond positively to all information treatments, with quality—particularly freshness—having the strongest effect. State ethnocentrism plays a key role, as consumers with higher state ethnocentrism exhibit greater willingness to pay for the state‐branded logo across all treatments. These findings provide insights for improving local food marketing strategies and strengthening state‐level marketing programs.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Bringing lapsed consumers back to the market might not be as simple as reversing why they left: the case of generic food

  Journal of Marketing Analytics · 2025-03-17 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• How Did Food Acquisition Patterns Evolve During the Course of the <scp>COVID</scp> ‐19 Pandemic? An International Study During 2021, 2022, and 2023

  Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy · 2025-08-09

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  ABSTRACT The COVID‐19 pandemic compelled governments to implement various stringent measures, causing changes in food consumption patterns. In this study, we examine changes in consumer behaviors such as online grocery shopping and restaurant dine‐in/takeouts in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan from 2021 to 2023 using multivariate probit regressions. The results reveal that food acquisition behaviors are shaped by a complex interplay of risk perceptions, socio‐demographic characteristics, and changing pandemic phases. Our study offers insights for food business marketing strategies and provides information for stakeholders in the international agribusiness industry through a multi‐country comparison.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Quality cue or price anchoring: The effect of price on consumer behavior in repeat experiments

  Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d agroeconomie · 2025-01-26

  articleSenior author

  Abstract Price is one of the most important factors affecting consumer purchase decisions. Consumers may use price as a quality cue or reference point to make the decisions. However, few studies have considered the quality cue by controlling the price anchoring and vice versa. We conduct four identical experiments weeks apart to estimate the effect of price on consumers' product quality evaluation and WTP. The results show that (1) the price has a significant impact on appearance rating and taste rating; (2) product quality mediates the price effect on consumer WTP only if consumers have incomplete quality information about the product; and (3) the marginal effect of price on consumer WTP differs over time. The results of this study provide deep insights into the role of price on consumers' quality assessment and valuation formation of products.

  PublisherDOI

• The impacts of message framing on consumer preferences for gene editing

  Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d agroeconomie · 2024-11-27 · 3 citations

  article

  Abstract Framing the same information in different ways can influence consumers’ decision making. This study assesses the impacts of information framing tools on consumer preference for a relatively novel food biotechnology tool – Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR). Using an online survey of U.S. orange juice consumers, we randomized consumers into a control and two treatment groups (gain vs. loss framing) and used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to measure and compare consumers’ preferences across treatments. We find that both frames are effective in reducing the degree of aversion towards CRISPR, but the gain frame carries a stronger effect.

  PublisherDOI

• Environmental policy behavioral spillovers: The impact of California's single‐use carryout bag ban on the use of unregulated single‐use plastics

  Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy · 2024-09-08

  articleOpen access

  Abstract This study examines the spillover effect of California's 2016 single‐use bag ban (SB 270) on unregulated single‐use plastics (SUPs) like cutlery, cups, and plates. We observed an insignificant 4.8% decrease in SUP sales over the entire post‐policy period, but a larger 8.1% drop in the second post‐year, which was only marginally significant. The findings suggest weak spillover effects from such environmental policies, indicating that direct regulations on certain environmentally harmful products might be more effective if jurisdictions aim to prohibit citizens from excessive use, rather than relying on the positive spillover effect from existing policies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Author response for "An examination of US pet owners’ use of veterinary services, 2006–2018"

  2024-01-12

  peer-review
  PublisherDOI

• An examination of US pet owners’ use of veterinary services, 2006–2018

  Veterinary Medicine and Science · 2024-03-27 · 13 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  OBJECTIVES: Examine US consumer pet-related and veterinary service expenditures and factors influencing US households' use of veterinary services. METHODS: Descriptive analysis on pet-related and veterinary service expenditures and regression analysis on pet owners' use of veterinary services, using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure from 2006 to 2018, with the sample size of 257,836 households, of which 73,593 had pet expenses. RESULTS: From 1980 to 2018, the proportion of households with pet-related and veterinary service expenditures increased. Since 2010, the percentage of pet-owning households using veterinary services has increased substantially. Household characteristics were examined and significantly affected the probability of both pet and veterinary expenditures. Non-White and Hispanic groups had increased pet ownership, but the likelihood of veterinary service use has not surpassed White and non-Hispanic pet owners. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the effects of household sociodemographics, particularly race and ethnicity, on using veterinary services provides insights for optimizing strategic planning for the pet industry and veterinarians. Reviewing the implications helps adjust and fine-tune strategies and influence the sustainability of the veterinary service sector by attracting different racial and ethnic groups. Future research might focus on other social and cultural factors influencing the utilization of veterinary care. The veterinary service sector can then effectively address pet care disparities, bridge existing gaps and improve economic viability.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Do color-coded Nutrition Facts Panels nudge the use of nutrition information?

  Food Policy · 2024-10-11 · 4 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Zhifeng Gao

  83 shared

• Karla P. Shelnutt

  30 shared

• Anne Mathews

  University of Florida

  24 shared

• Yan Heng

  University of Florida

  22 shared

• Hyeyoung Kim

  University of Alabama

  21 shared

• Michael S. Jones

  University of Alaska Anchorage

  15 shared

• Allen F. Wysocki

  University of Florida

  15 shared

• Yuan Jiang

  Huazhong University of Science and Technology

  15 shared

Awards & honors

• UF Research Foundation Professorship (2017-2020)
• SAEA Lifetime Achievement Award (2021)
• AAEA Mentoring Award (2021)
• Advisor of the Year for CALS and UF (2007-08)