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Abstract
We propose a collective induction treatment as an aggregator of information and preferences,
which enables testing whether consumer preferences for food quality elicited through
experimental auctions are robust to aggregation. We develop a two-stage estimation method
based on social judgment scheme theory to identify the determinants of social influence in
collective induction. Our method is tested in a market experiment aiming to assess
consumers’ willingness-to-pay for rice quality in Senegal. No significant choice shift was
observed after collective induction which suggests that consumer preferences for rice quality
are robust to aggregation. Almost three quarters of social influence captured by the model
and the variables was explained by social status, market expertise and information.