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Do the Poor Pay More for Food?

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  • Timothy K.M. Beatty

Abstract

Does food cost more for low-income households? This paper compares two well-known approaches to answering this question. I find that quantity discounts for a broad range of foods are statistically significant and economically important. However quantity discounting does not lead to the poor paying more for food. I find that the poor pay less than average for the food they purchase. This is explained by the poor spending a greater share of their income on foods where quantity discounting occurs. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy K.M. Beatty, 2010. "Do the Poor Pay More for Food?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(3), pages 608-621.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:92:y:2010:i:3:p:608-621
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ajae/aaq020
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    Cited by:

    1. Brian Dillon & Joachim De Weerdt & Ted O’Donoghue, 2021. "Paying More for Less: Why Don’t Households in Tanzania Take Advantage of Bulk Discounts?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 35(1), pages 148-179.
    2. Gibson, John & Kim, Bonggeun, 2013. "Do the urban poor face higher food prices? Evidence from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 193-203.
    3. Mary Zaki & Jessica E. Todd, 2023. "Price Consciousness at the Peak of “Impatience”," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(3), pages 1003-1027.
    4. Ulrik Beck, 2015. "Keep it real: Measuring real inequality using survey data from developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series 133, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Pourya Valizadeh & Travis A. Smith & Michele Ver Ploeg, 2021. "Do SNAP Households Pay Different Prices throughout the Benefit Month?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(3), pages 1051-1075, September.
    6. Vincent Geloso & Peter Lindert, 2020. "Relative costs of living, for richer and poorer, 1688–1914," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(3), pages 417-442, September.
    7. Noble, Stephanie M. & Lee, Kang Bok & Zaretzki, Russell & Autry, Chad, 2017. "Coupon clipping by impoverished consumers: Linking demographics, basket size, and coupon redemption rates," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 553-571.
    8. Christine M. Sauer & Thomas Reardon & Nicole M. Mason, 2023. "The poor do not pay more: Evidence from Tanzanian consumer food expenditures controlling for the food environment," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(5), pages 638-661, September.
    9. Caillavet, F. & Darmon, N. & Fadhuile, A. & Nichele, V., 2015. "Who emits most? The environmental impact of food purchases of French households," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211382, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. France, Caillavet & Adélaide, Fadhuile & Véronique, Nichèle, 2014. "Taxing Animal Products: Protein Demand under Environmental Pressure and Social Impact in France," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 169974, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. March, Raymond J. & Carpio, Carlos E. & Boonsaeng, Tullaya & Lyford, Conrad P., 2020. "Do SNAP Recipients Get the Best Prices?," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(1), pages 135-159, February.
    12. Cleary, Rebecca & Bonanno, Alessandro & Chenarides, Lauren & Goetz, Stephan J., 2018. "Store profitability and public policies to improve food access in non-metro U.S. counties," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 158-170.
    13. John Gibson & Bonggeun Kim, 2018. "Economies of scale, bulk discounts, and liquidity constraints: comparing unit value and transaction level evidence in a poor country," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 21-39, March.
    14. Mussa, Richard, 2014. "Food Price Heterogeneity and Income Inequality in Malawi: Is Inequality Underestimated?," MPRA Paper 56080, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Beatty, Timothy K.M., 2016. "Food Price Variation over the SNAP Benefit Cycle," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236012, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Sol García-Germán & Isabel Bardají & Alberto Garrido, 2016. "Evaluating price transmission between global agricultural markets and consumer food price indices in the European Union," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(1), pages 59-70, January.
    17. Richard Mussa, 2015. "Do the Poor Pay More for Maize in Malawi?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 546-563, 05-27.
    18. Ulrik Beck, 2015. "Keep it real: Measuring real inequality using survey data from developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-133, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    19. Maneka Jayasinghe & Christine Smith, 2021. "Poverty Implications of Household Headship and Food Consumption Economies of Scales: A Case Study from Sri Lanka," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 157-185, May.
    20. Olabisi, Michael & Richardson, Robert B., 2022. "Why the poor pay higher energy prices: Evidence from Tanzania," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    21. Caillavet, France & Fadhuile, Adelaide & Nichèle, Véronique, 2014. "Taxing animal foods for sustainability: environmental, nutritional and social perspectives in France," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182863, European Association of Agricultural Economists.

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