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Why Does the Engel Method Work? Food Demand, Economies of Size and Household Survey Methods

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Author Info
John Gibson () (University of Waikato)

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Abstract

Estimates of household size economies are needed for the analysis of poverty and inequality. This paper shows that Engel estimates of size economies are large when household expenditures are obtained by respondent recall but small when expenditures are obtained by daily recording in diaries. Expenditure estimates from recall surveys appear to have measurement errors correlated with household size. As well as demonstrating the fragility of Engel estimates of size economies, these results help resolve a puzzle raised by Deaton and Paxson (1998) about differences between rich and poor countries in the effect of household size on food demand.

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File URL: ftp://mngt.waikato.ac.nz/RePEc/wai/econwp/0202.pdf
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Paper provided by University of Waikato, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers in Economics with number 02/02.

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Length: 19 pages
Date of creation: 30 Jan 2002
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wai:econwp:02/02

Note: Published in "Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics", 64(4) September 2002, pp.341-59.
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Related research
Keywords: food demand; economies of size; household surveys; measurement error;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Microeconomic Data
I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Lanjouw, Peter & Ravallion, Martin, 1995. "Poverty and Household Size," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(433), pages 1415-34, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Dreze, Jean & Srinivasan, P. V., 1997. "Widowhood and poverty in rural India: Some inferences from household survey data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 217-234, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Coulter, Fiona A E & Cowell, Frank A & Jenkins, Stephen P, 1992. "Equivalence Scale Relativities and the Extent of Inequality and Poverty," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 102(414), pages 1067-82, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Lancaster, Geoffrey & Ray, Ranjan & Valenzuela, Maria Rebecca, 1999. "A Cross-Country Study of Equivalence Scales and Expenditure Inequality on Unit Record Household Budget Data," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(4), pages 455-82, December.
  5. Angus Deaton & Christina Paxson, 1998. "Economies of Scale, Household Size, and the Demand for Food," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 897-930, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Isabel McWhinney & Harold Champion, 1974. "The Canadian Experience With Recall And Diary Methods In Consumer Expenditure Surveys," NBER Chapters, in: Annals of Economic and Social Measurement, Volume 3, number 2, pages 113-140 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Victoria Vernon, 2004. "Food Expenditure, Food Preparation Time and Household Economies of Scale," Labor and Demography 0412005, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  2. Halliday, Timothy, 2008. "Mismeasured Household Size and Its Implications for the Identification of Economies of Scale," IZA Discussion Papers 3896, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Naeem Ahmed & Matthew Brzozowski & Thomas F. Crossley, 2005. "Measurement Errors in Recall Food Expenditure Data," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 133, McMaster University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Georgina Pizzolitto, 2007. "Curvas de Engel de Alimentos, Preferencias Heterogéneas y Características Demográficas de los Hogares: Estimaciones para Argentina," Working Papers 0045, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. [Downloadable!]
  5. Trevon D. Logan, 2008. "Economies of Scale in the Household: Puzzles and Patterns from the American Past," NBER Working Papers 13869, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Alessandro Tarozzi, 2004. "Calculating Comparable Statistics from Incomparable Surveys, with an Application to Poverty in India," Econometric Society 2004 North American Winter Meetings 280, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Gibson, John, 2003. "Does Measurement Error Explain a Paradox About Household Size and Food Demand? Evidence from Variation in Household Survey Methods," 2003 Annual meeting, July 27-30, Montreal, Canada 22198, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
  8. Naohito Abe, 2008. "Volatility in Panel Data of Household Expenditure," Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series d07-237, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. [Downloadable!]
  9. Thiago Pamplona Guimarães & Walter Belluzo Júnior, 2006. "Estimação De Economias De Escala No Consumo Familiar Para O Caso Brasileiro," Anais do XXXIV Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 34th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 172, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pósgraduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics]. [Downloadable!]
  10. Naeem Ahmed & Matthew Brzozowski & Thomas Crossley, 2006. "Measurement errors in recall food consumption data," IFS Working Papers W06/21, Institute for Fiscal Studies. [Downloadable!]
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