The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia

The calorie-income demand elasticity is an important parameter in the development literature and in the policy arena. Yet, there is very little evidence on the extent to which it can be considered as an unchanging parameter or a time-shifting parameter that, for example, changes with the economic co...

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Autor principal: Skoufias, Emmanuel
Formato: Brief
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2002
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156659
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author Skoufias, Emmanuel
author_browse Skoufias, Emmanuel
author_facet Skoufias, Emmanuel
author_sort Skoufias, Emmanuel
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The calorie-income demand elasticity is an important parameter in the development literature and in the policy arena. Yet, there is very little evidence on the extent to which it can be considered as an unchanging parameter or a time-shifting parameter that, for example, changes with the economic conditions faced by households. In this paper I use data from the 1996 and 1999 National Socio-Economic Surveys (SUSENAS) in Indonesia to examine whether the relationship between income changes and caloric availability has changed and if so, how. Using the same questionnaire, the SUSENAS surveys collect detailed information on more than 200 different food items consumed over the last seven days by 60,000 households at the same point in each survey year. I use nonparametric as well as regression methods to examine two important relationships: (1) between income and total calories, and (2) between income and calories from cereals and other foods (excluding cereals and root crops). The empirical analysis finds that the income elasticity of the demand for total calories is slightly higher in February 1999 (the crisis year with dramatically different relative prices) compared to its level in February 1996. Also, the calorie-income elasticity for cereals as a group increases while the calorie-income elasticity for other food items decreases. The latter finding is interpreted as consistent with the presence of a binding subsistence constraint.
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spelling CGSpace1566592025-01-10T06:42:50Z The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia Skoufias, Emmanuel prices information income food consumption The calorie-income demand elasticity is an important parameter in the development literature and in the policy arena. Yet, there is very little evidence on the extent to which it can be considered as an unchanging parameter or a time-shifting parameter that, for example, changes with the economic conditions faced by households. In this paper I use data from the 1996 and 1999 National Socio-Economic Surveys (SUSENAS) in Indonesia to examine whether the relationship between income changes and caloric availability has changed and if so, how. Using the same questionnaire, the SUSENAS surveys collect detailed information on more than 200 different food items consumed over the last seven days by 60,000 households at the same point in each survey year. I use nonparametric as well as regression methods to examine two important relationships: (1) between income and total calories, and (2) between income and calories from cereals and other foods (excluding cereals and root crops). The empirical analysis finds that the income elasticity of the demand for total calories is slightly higher in February 1999 (the crisis year with dramatically different relative prices) compared to its level in February 1996. Also, the calorie-income elasticity for cereals as a group increases while the calorie-income elasticity for other food items decreases. The latter finding is interpreted as consistent with the presence of a binding subsistence constraint. 2002 2024-10-24T12:45:00Z 2024-10-24T12:45:00Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156659 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Skoufias, Emmanuel. 2002. The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia. FCND Discussion Paper Brief 141. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156659
spellingShingle prices
information
income
food consumption
Skoufias, Emmanuel
The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia
title The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia
title_full The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia
title_fullStr The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia
title_full_unstemmed The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia
title_short The sensitivity of calorie-income demand elasticity to price changes: evidence from Indonesia
title_sort sensitivity of calorie income demand elasticity to price changes evidence from indonesia
topic prices
information
income
food consumption
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156659
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