Do Prices and Attributes Explain International Differences in Food Purchases?
Pierre Dubois, Rachel Griffith, Aviv Nevo
American Economic Review · 2014 · Volume 104 · Issue 3
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.
Keywords
Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis, Health Production, Production, Pricing, and Market Structure, Size Distribution of Firms, Food, Beverages, Cosmetics, Tobacco, Wine and Spirits, Agriculture: Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis, Prices
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