Measuring Attitudes toward Ethanol Production and Use: A Case Study of Nebraska

The study investigates consumer attitudes toward the production and use of ethanol as a biofuel in the state of Nebraska. Our first hypothesis is that most consumers will have a favorable opinion of corn-based ethanol. We expect farmers and agricultural professionals especially to favor ethanol because of its economic benefits. However, we believe further research is needed to examine how other demographics would align with these preferences. The second hypothesis is that economic favorability will be greater than environmental favorability because the economic benefits of ethanol are hardly criticized while the validity of its environmental benefits are often questioned. The study utilized an instrument to measure attitude toward ethanol production and use based on Fishbein's theory, which stipulates that both the belief and evaluation of the belief should have key roles in defining attitude (Ajzen and Fishbein 1980), as opposed to the loose traditional definition which often leads to inconsistent and contradictory results. Findings of the study indicate that (1) in general, consumers have ambivalent feelings toward ethanol, but (2) economic favorability is significantly high.