Community supported agriculture, economic preference theory and subjective well-being

Community supported agriculture (CSA) is an economic institution that enables direct interaction between farmers and consumers. Consumers join because they want to reduce their environmental impact, support local agriculture and obtain healthy, fresh food. The motivation for this research is to examine the reasons why people join CSA in light of contemporary economic preference theory as well as the emerging field of subjective well-being.; Contemporary economic preference theory is expanding our understanding of how consumers behave. Traditionally the consumer has been viewed as narrowly self-interested, seeking to maximize his or her personal utility through the consumption of material goods. Behavioral and experimental economics, as well as game theory, are opening up new views of consumer preferences. These fields are increasingly demonstrating that consumers are heterogeneous and adaptive.; The emerging field of subjective well-being (or happiness studies) shows that higher incomes do not necessarily increase our happiness. Just as the pursuit of narrow self-interest does not consistently predict experimental outcomes, neither does it necessarily result in increased subjective well-being. Health, community strength, and direct participation also play an important role in a person's self reported happiness.; In this study Q methodology is used to investigate the following questions: Do members of CSA exhibit social, or other-regarding, preferences? Do CSAs affect membership behavior? Are the potential contributions that CSA can make to well-being important to members? How important are traditional economic constraints? Three significant discourses, or points of view, were found as a result of factor analysis performed on Q data obtained from members in two Arizonan CSAs. Factor A represents the majority discourse and primarily reflects environmental concerns. Factor B represents the second most important discourse and reflects health and local purchasing motivations among CSA members. Factor C represents the minority discourse, which emphasizes energy and member convenience issues. These discourses show greater support for the existence of social and endogenous preferences among CSA members than narrowly self-regarding preferences. To a lesser extent, these discourses also demonstrate that CSA membership contributes to well-being.