Factors Forming the Consumers' Willingness to Pay a Price Premium for Ecological Goods in Ukraine

This study discusses the identification of factors affecting consumers' willingness to pay a price premium for ecological goods. The study was carried out in selected regions of Ukraine, in the cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv. The study applied various research methods, in particular public opinion analysis based on conducted surveys and the statistical inference method. The conducted research may constitute the scientific basis for the assessment of this market segment development. The comparison of consumer attitudes, presented by the residents of major Ukrainian cities regarding environmental goods, revealed their willingness to pay a price premium depending primarily on the purchasing power of the population, but also on gender, age, and social status. The analysis of differences in the cross-tabulation of quality characteristics was performed using Pearson's chi-square test, which showed that, for example, men were more willing than women to choose environmental products due to their environmental safety and their selection was more often than in case of women based on environmental goods' price. The collected research results can be used to assess the development prospects of environmental goods' market, to construct the set of measures increasing the willingness level of domestic consumers to pay a price premium for ecological products, and to take up decisions about the production of ecological goods.