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Are tortillas a Giffen Good in Mexico?

Author

Listed:
  • David Mckenzie

    (Department of Economics, Stanford University)

Abstract

Jensen and Miller (2001) have recently demonstrated rice and noodles to be Giffen Goods among the poor in South and North China respectively. We examine whether tortillas, the main staple in Mexico, are also a Giffen Good. The large income change due to the 1995 Peso Crisis and the large tortilla price increase arising from the removal of government subsidies provide an ideal environment for this test. We find tortillas to be an inferior good, but not a Giffen Good.

Suggested Citation

  • David Mckenzie, 2002. "Are tortillas a Giffen Good in Mexico?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 15(1), pages 1-7.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-01o10003
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David J. McKenzie, 2001. "The Household Response to the Mexican Peso Crisis," Working Papers 01017, Stanford University, Department of Economics.
    2. James Banks & Richard Blundell & Arthur Lewbel, 1997. "Quadratic Engel Curves And Consumer Demand," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 527-539, November.
    3. repec:wbk:wbpubs:13828 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. San Vicente Portes, Luis, 2009. "On the distributional effects of trade policy: Dynamics of household saving and asset prices," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 944-970, August.
    2. Yochanan Shachmurove & Janusz Szyrmer, 2011. "Sir Robert Giffen Meets Russia in Early 1990s," PIER Working Paper Archive 11-020, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    3. Li, H. & Wang, X. & Ren, Y., 2018. "Family Income and Health: Evidence from Food Consumption in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277074, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Subramanian, Arjunan & Kumar, Parmod, 2017. "The impact of price policy on demand for alcohol in rural India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 176-185.
    5. Luis San Vicente Portes, 2005. "On the Distributional Effects of Trade Policy: A Macroeconomic Perspective," Computing in Economics and Finance 2005 358, Society for Computational Economics.
    6. repec:wbk:wbpubs:6582 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Xiaohui Hou, 2010. "Can Drought Increase Total Calorie Availability? The Impact of Drought on Food Consumption and the Mitigating Effects of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(4), pages 713-737, July.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior

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