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Stacy Alboher’04 (Middletown, N.Y.) recently presented her yearlong honors research on consumers’ willingness to pay more for lumber culled from environmentally and socially responsible sources at the 18th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Hosted April 15-17 by Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, the conference showcased the work of about 2,000 undergraduate students. Forty-two Lafayette students were accepted to present their research there.
“It was a great experience,” says Alboher, a double major in economics & business and environmental policy. “The presentation provided a perfect practice opportunity for my thesis defense, and I received some excellent feedback on my paper. It was also nice to spend time with such a diverse group of Lafayette students and faculty, many of whom I would have never had the opportunity to meet or interact with otherwise.”
Alboher’s interest in the topic was cultivated by an internship in the forestry division of the World Wildlife Foundation. She presented research that stemmed from a University of Oregon study of whether certified lumber would sell better than uncertified lumber. Certified lumber ensures that the product was taken from a “sustainably managed forest” and is free from things like pesticides and child labor, Alboher explains.
“Certification, in effect, represents the ‘Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,’” adds James DeVault, associate professor of economics and business, Alboher’s adviser for the project.
Certified products are scrutinized through social and economic evaluations conducted by organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council. Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, the council is an international non-profit founded in 1993 to support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. Members include representatives from environmental and social groups, the timber trade and the forestry profession, indigenous people’s organizations, community forestry groups, and forest product certification organizations from around the world.
The University of Oregon study used displays in Home Depots across the West Coast to determine whether customers would pay a two percent premium for certified plywood. Alboher decided to study the East Coast because people tend to be less environmentally aware there. She also chose to use a specific product instead of plywood
“I decided to largely replicate that study,” she says. However, she noticed some flaws in the research and decided to change certain areas. “It was a good study. I just tweaked it a little bit.”
Alboher’s nine-week trial explored 18-inch shelves at three Home Depots; two in New York and one in Pennsylvania. Each store had a sign identifying the certified shelves.
“The question is whether consumers are willing to pay the premium,” DeVault says.
In the first three weeks, a 10% premium was established for the certified shelves. In this instance, 25 certified shelves were sold, as compared to 50 uncertified. In the second three weeks, with a 5% established premium, 18 certified and 49 uncertified shelves were sold.
“I found that there is, in fact, a willingness to pay for certified forest products, although the price premiums do have a significant effect on the percentage of certified versus uncertified goods sold,” Alboher says. “However, I did not find any significant difference in sales resulting from different amounts of information provided to consumers.”
DeVault says that Alboher’s project is unique in her major field of study because of the fieldwork and generation of her own data.
“Stacy’s work involves collecting the data firsthand [and] determining the appropriate methodology. These are issues that have rarely, if ever, been addressed in previous economics honors theses,” DeVault explains.
“Stacy is extremely tenacious and ambitious,” he continues. “When she finds a problem of interest to her, she is relentless in her pursuit of a solution. What I like best about Stacy is that she brings commitment and passion to her work. She is not intimidated by the fact that she is an undergraduate and is not afraid to contact professors, administrators or executives.”
To get permission from Home Depot stores to conduct the study, for example, she went straight to the source, asking John Schwager, global product manager and the contact person for the first study.
Previously, Alboher researched the factors that affect airfares as an EXCEL Scholar with Thomas H. Bruggink, professor of economics and business. In Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend. The program has helped make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate in EXCEL each year go on to publish papers in scholarly journals and/or present their research at conferences.
She was among seven students in a Technology Clinic that developed and presented recommendations to Lehigh Valley Hospital Physicians Group on how it can improve the experience of patients at their doctors’ offices. Technology Clinic is a hands-on, two-semester Lafayette course in which students from different majors join together to solve real-world problems for clients that include businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.
Alboher also studied at American University in Washington, D.C., through the Washington Semester Program.
She is an admissions tour guide and has taken part in an abundance of volunteer work, including Adopt a Grandparent and Learning and Friendship Together. She plans to join the Peace Corps after graduating in May, a move inspired by a trip to South Africa. “That changed my thinking a lot,” she says.
She is a graduate of Middletown High School.
Honors thesis projects are among several major opportunities at Lafayette that make the College a national leader in undergraduate research. Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year.