Risk perceptions of arsenic in tap water and consumption 3 of bottled water

6 [1] The demand for bottled water has increased rapidly over the past decade, but bottled 7 water is extremely costly compared to tap water. The convenience of bottled water 8 surely matters to consumers, but are others factors at work? This manuscript examines 9 whether purchases of bottled water are associated with the perceived risk of tap water. All 10 of the past studies on bottled water consumption have used simple scale measures of 11 perceived risk that do not correspond to risk measures used by risk analysts. We elicit a 12 probability-based measure of risk and find that as perceived risks rise, expenditures 13 for bottled water rise.