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Least-cost diets to teach optimization and consumer behavior, with applications to health equity, poverty measurement and international development

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  • Jessica K. Wallingford
  • William A. Masters

Abstract

The least-cost diet problem introduces students to optimization and linear programming, using the health consequences of food choice. We provide a graphical example, Excel workbook and Word template using actual data on item prices, food composition and nutrient requirements for a brief exercise in which students guess at and then solve for nutrient adequacy at lowest cost, before comparing modeled diets to actual consumption which has varying degrees of nutrient adequacy. The graphical example is a 'three sisters' diet of corn, beans and squash, and the full multidimensional model is compared to current food consumption in Ethiopia. This updated Stigler diet shows how cost minimization relates to utility maximization, and links to ongoing research and policy debates about the affordability of healthy diets worldwide.

Suggested Citation

  • Jessica K. Wallingford & William A. Masters, 2023. "Least-cost diets to teach optimization and consumer behavior, with applications to health equity, poverty measurement and international development," Papers 2312.11767, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2312.11767
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. William A. Masters & Amelia B. Finaret & Steven A. Block, 2022. "The economics of malnutrition: Dietary transition and food system transformation," Papers 2202.02579, arXiv.org.
    2. Humberto Barreto, 2018. "Let's put demography back into economics: Population pyramids in Excel," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(1), pages 91-102, January.
    3. William A Masters & Yan Bai & Anna Herforth & Daniel B Sarpong & Fulgence Mishili & Joyce Kinabo & Jennifer C Coates, 2018. "Measuring the Affordability of Nutritious Diets in Africa: Price Indexes for Diet Diversity and the Cost of Nutrient Adequacy," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(5), pages 1285-1301.
    4. George J. Stigler, 1945. "The Cost of Subsistence," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 27(2), pages 303-314.
    5. Amy McCormick Diduch, 2012. "Using the Consumer Expenditure Survey to Teach Poverty Measurement," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 99-106, January.
    6. Steven Batt & Tara Grealis & Oskar Harmon & Paul Tomolonis, 2020. "Learning Tableau: A data visualization tool," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3-4), pages 317-328, August.
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