Gender differences in pro-social behaviour: The case of Fair Trade food consumers

Abstract

Objective of this paper is to analyse the presence of gender differences in the purchase motivations of Fair Trade (FT) food products sold in the Italian World Shops (WS). At the end of investigating FT purchase motivations, a questionnaire has been distributed to a sample of consumers in four Italian regions. A bivariate ordered probit analysis has been performed in order to identify the determinants of the two main ethical purchase motivations: worker guarantees and solidarity. The variables used as determinants are individual and municipal characteristics. Among individual characteristics, gender is significant; among the municipal characteristics, the rate of female labor force participation is also significant. These results give evidence of a gender-based differentiation in the preferences for FT public goods.