Do Prices and Attributes Explain International Differences in Food Purchases?
- (pp. 832-67)
Abstract
Food purchases differ substantially across countries. We use detailed household level data from the US, France and the UK to (i) document these differences; (ii) estimate a demand system for food and nutrients, and (iii) simulate counterfactual choices if households faced prices and nutritional characteristics from other countries. We find that differences in prices and characteristics are important and can explain some difference (e.g., US-France difference in caloric intake), but generally cannot explain many of the compositional patterns by themselves. Instead, it seems an interaction between the economic environment and differences in preferences is needed to explain cross country differences.Citation
Dubois, Pierre, Rachel Griffith, and Aviv Nevo. 2014. "Do Prices and Attributes Explain International Differences in Food Purchases?" American Economic Review, 104 (3): 832-67. DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.3.832Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
- I12 Health Production
- L11 Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
- L66 Food; Beverages; Cosmetics; Tobacco; Wine and Spirits
- Q11 Agriculture: Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices