IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/apecpp/v37y2015i4p575-601..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Calorie Elasticities with Income Dynamics: Evidence from the Literature

Author

Listed:
  • De Zhou
  • Xiaohua Yu

Abstract

This paper proposes a finite mixture model to identify the behavioral transition of calorie consumption with an assumption that nutrition consumption is a mixture of behaviors in two different stages: a poor stage and an affluent stage. Based on a meta-analysis of 387 calorie-income elasticities collected from 90 primary studies, it is found that the threshold income for calorie demand transition is $460 in 2012 prices. This implies that the transitional threshold for calorie consumption is $1.26/day, which is slightly lower than the World Bank's poverty line ($1.25/day in 2005 purchasing power parity prices) after deflation. This study provides a new empirical approach to evaluate the transition of calorie consumption and poverty line.

Suggested Citation

  • De Zhou & Xiaohua Yu, 2015. "Calorie Elasticities with Income Dynamics: Evidence from the Literature," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 37(4), pages 575-601.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:apecpp:v:37:y:2015:i:4:p:575-601.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/aepp/ppu043
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Behrman, Jere R & Deolalikar, Anil B, 1987. "Will Developing Country Nutrition Improve with Income? A Case Study for Rural South India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 492-507, June.
    2. Bouis, Howarth E., 1994. "The effect of income on demand for food in poor countries: Are our food consumption databases giving us reliable estimates?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 199-226, June.
    3. Abdulai, Awudu & Aubert, Dominique, 2004. "Nonparametric and parametric analysis of calorie consumption in Tanzania," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 113-129, April.
    4. Gallet, Craig A., 2010. "The income elasticity of meat: a meta-analysis," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(4), pages 1-14.
    5. Ogundari, Kolawole & Abdulai, Awudu, 2013. "Examining the heterogeneity in calorie–income elasticities: A meta-analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 119-128.
    6. Bouis, Howarth & Haddad, Lawrence & Kennedy, Eileen, 1992. "Does it matter how we survey demand for food?: Evidence from Kenya and the Philippines," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 349-360, October.
    7. Pitt, Mark M, 1983. "Food Preferences and Nutrition in Rural Bangladesh," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(1), pages 105-114, February.
    8. Matthew J. Salois & Richard Tiffin & Kelvin G. Balcombe, 2012. "Impact of Income on Nutrient Intakes: Implications for Undernourishment and Obesity," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(12), pages 1716-1730, December.
    9. Subramanian, Shankar & Deaton, Angus, 1996. "The Demand for Food and Calories," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(1), pages 133-162, February.
    10. Behrman, Jere R. & Foster, Andrew D. & Rosenzweig, Mark R., 1997. "The dynamics of agricultural production and the calorie-income relationship: Evidence from Pakistan," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 187-207, March.
    11. Tian, Xu & Yu, Xiaohua, 2012. "The Enigmas of TFP in China: A meta-analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 396-414.
    12. Sahn, David E, 1988. "The Effect of Price and Income Changes on Food-Energy Intake in Sri Lanka," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 315-340, January.
    13. Xiaohua Yu & David Abler, 2009. "The Demand for Food Quality in Rural China," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(1), pages 57-69.
    14. Conway, Karen Smith & Deb, Partha, 2005. "Is prenatal care really ineffective? Or, is the 'devil' in the distribution?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 489-513, May.
    15. Xu Tian & Xiaohua Yu, 2013. "The Demand for Nutrients in China," Frontiers of Economics in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities, Higher Education Press, vol. 8(2), pages 186-206, June.
    16. Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2003. "Is the Calorie-Income Elasticity Sensitive to Price Changes? Evidence from Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1291-1307, July.
    17. Bouis, Howarth E. & Haddad, Lawrence J., 1992. "Are estimates of calorie-income fxelasticities too high? : A recalibration of the plausible range," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 333-364, October.
    18. Tian, Xu & Yu, Xiaohua, 2015. "Using semiparametric models to study nutrition improvement and dietary change with different indices: The case of China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 67-81.
    19. Behrman, Jere R. & Wolfe, Barbara L., 1984. "More evidence on nutrition demand : Income seems overrated and women's schooling underemphasized," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 105-128.
    20. Shaohua Chen & Martin Ravallion, 2010. "The Developing World is Poorer than We Thought, But No Less Successful in the Fight Against Poverty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(4), pages 1577-1625.
    21. Robert T. Jensen & Nolan H. Miller, 2010. "A Revealed Preference Approach to Measuring Hunger and Undernutrition," NBER Working Papers 16555, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Strauss, John, 1984. "Joint determination of food consumption and production in rural Sierra Leone : Estimates of a household-firm model," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 77-103.
    23. Emmanuel Skoufias & Vincenzo Di Maro & Teresa Gonzalez-Cossio & Sonia Rodriguez Ramirez, 2011. "Food quality, calories and household income," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(28), pages 4331-4342.
    24. Logan, Trevon D., 2006. "Nutrition and Well-Being in the Late Nineteenth Century," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 66(2), pages 313-341, June.
    25. Robert T. Jensen & Nolan H. Miller, 2011. "Do Consumer Price Subsidies Really Improve Nutrition?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1205-1223, November.
    26. Kuo S. Huang, 1996. "Nutrient Elasticities in a Complete Food Demand System," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(1), pages 21-29.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Christophe Gouel & Houssein Guimbard, 2019. "Nutrition Transition and the Structure of Global Food Demand," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(2), pages 383-403.
    2. Luo, Hengrong & Yu, Xiaohua, 2020. "Meat Consumption, Dietary Structure and Nutrition Transition in China," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 305415, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    3. François Gardes & Noël Thiombiano, 2017. "The value of time and expenditures of rural households in Burkina Faso: a domestic production framework," Post-Print halshs-01535172, HAL.
    4. Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano & Carlucci, Domenico & De Devitiis, Biagia & Seccia, Antonio & Stasi, Antonio & Viscecchia, Rosaria & Nardone, Gianluca, 2017. "Emerging trends in European food, diets and food industry," MPRA Paper 82105, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Yingying Huang & Hui Wang & Xu Tian, 2016. "Changing Diet Quality in China during 2004–2011," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Arsham Reisinezhad, 2018. "Economic Growth and Income Inequality in Resource Countries: Theory and Evidence," Working Papers halshs-01707976, HAL.
    7. Fukase, Emiko & Martin, Will, 2020. "Economic growth, convergence, and world food demand and supply," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    8. Hanjie Wang & Qiran Zhao & Yunli Bai & Linxiu Zhang & Xiaohua Yu, 2020. "Poverty and Subjective Poverty in Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 219-242, July.
    9. Melo, P. C. & Abdul-Salam, Yakubu & Roberts, D. & Colen, L. & Mary, S. & Gomez Y Paloma, S., 2016. "Income growth and malnutrition in Africa: Is there a need for region-specific policies?," 90th Annual Conference, April 4-6, 2016, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 236372, Agricultural Economics Society.
    10. Patricia C Melo & Yakubu Abdul-Salam & Deborah Roberts & Alana Gilbert & Robin Matthews & Liesbeth Colen & Sergio Gomez Y Paloma, 2015. "Income Elasticities of Food Demand in Africa: A Meta-Analysis," JRC Research Reports JRC98812, Joint Research Centre.
    11. Trinh Thi, Huong & Simioni, Michel & Thomas-Agnan, Christine, 2018. "Assessing the nonlinearity of the calorie-income relationship: An estimation strategy – With new insights on nutritional transition in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 192-204.
    12. Subir Bairagi & Samarendu Mohanty & Sampriti Baruah & Huong Trinh Thi, 2020. "Changing food consumption patterns in rural and urban Vietnam: Implications for a future food supply system," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(3), pages 750-775, July.
    13. Jiajun Zhou & Sirimaporn Leepromrath & Xu Tian & De Zhou, 2020. "Dynamics of Chinese Diet Divergence from Chinese Food Pagoda and Its Association with Adiposity and Influential Factors: 2004–2011," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-22, January.
    14. Ding, Yawen & Min, Shi & Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2022. "Memory of famine: The persistent impact of famine experience on food waste behavior," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    15. Mohammad Ali & Kira M. Villa & Janak Joshi, 2018. "Health and hunger: nutrient response to income depending on caloric availability in Nepal," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(5), pages 611-621, September.
    16. François Gardes & Noël Thiombiano, 2017. "The value of time and expenditures of rural households in Burkina Faso: a domestic production framework," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01535172, HAL.
    17. François Gardes & Noël Thiombiano, 2017. "The value of time and expenditures of rural households in Burkina Faso: a domestic production framework," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 17027, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    18. Xiaohua Yu & Satoru Shimokawa, 2016. "Nutritional impacts of rising food prices in African countries: a review," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(5), pages 985-997, October.
    19. Qiyan Zeng & Zhipeng He & Yuting Wang, 2022. "The Direct and Structure Effect of Income on Nutrition Demand of Chinese Rural Residents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-13, October.
    20. Lopez Barrera, Emiliano & Hertel, Thomas, 2021. "Global food waste across the income spectrum: Implications for food prices, production and resource use," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    21. Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano & Shabnam, Nadia, 2015. "The income-elasticity of calories, macro and micro nutrients: What is the literature telling us?," MPRA Paper 63754, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Colen, L. & Melo, P.C. & Abdul-Salam, Y. & Roberts, D. & Mary, S. & Gomez Y Paloma, S., 2018. "Income elasticities for food, calories and nutrients across Africa: A meta-analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 116-132.
    23. Tian, Xu & Yu, Xiaohua, 2015. "Using semiparametric models to study nutrition improvement and dietary change with different indices: The case of China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 67-81.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammad Ali & Kira M. Villa & Janak Joshi, 2018. "Health and hunger: nutrient response to income depending on caloric availability in Nepal," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(5), pages 611-621, September.
    2. Ecker, Olivier & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Analyzing Nutritional Impacts of Policies: An Empirical Study for Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 412-428, March.
    3. Tian, Xu & Yu, Xiaohua, 2015. "Using semiparametric models to study nutrition improvement and dietary change with different indices: The case of China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 67-81.
    4. Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano & Shabnam, Nadia, 2015. "The income-elasticity of calories, macro and micro nutrients: What is the literature telling us?," MPRA Paper 63754, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Jumrani, Jaya, 2023. "How responsive are nutrients in India? Some recent evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    6. Salois, Matthew & Tiffin, Richard & Balcombe, Kelvin, 2010. "Calorie and Nutrient Consumption as a Function of Income: A Cross-Country Analysis," MPRA Paper 24726, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Ogundari, Kolawole & Abdulai, Awudu, 2013. "Examining the heterogeneity in calorie–income elasticities: A meta-analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 119-128.
    8. Ecker, Olivier & Qaim, Matin, 2008. "Income and Price Elasticities of Food Demand and Nutrient Consumption in Malawi," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 6349, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    9. Tankari, Mahamadou R., 2014. "L’élasticité calorie-revenu est-elle faible au Niger ?," Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, Editions NecPlus, vol. 95(04), pages 473-491, December.
    10. Emmanuel Skoufias & Vincenzo Di Maro & Teresa González‐Cossío & Sonia Rodríguez Ramírez, 2009. "Nutrient consumption and household income in rural Mexico," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(6), pages 657-675, November.
    11. Miquel, Ruth & Laisney, François, 2000. "Consumption and nutrition: age - intake profiles for Czechoslovakia 1989 - 1992," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-63, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    12. Hamidou Jawara & Rainer Thiele, 2021. "The Nutrient-Income Elasticity in Ultra-Poor Households: Evidence from Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(6), pages 1795-1819, December.
    13. Colen, L. & Melo, P.C. & Abdul-Salam, Y. & Roberts, D. & Mary, S. & Gomez Y Paloma, S., 2018. "Income elasticities for food, calories and nutrients across Africa: A meta-analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 116-132.
    14. Ruth Miquel & François Laisney, 1999. "Consumption and Nutrition:Age - Intake Profiles for Czechoslovakia," Working Papers of BETA 9921, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    15. Kira M. Villa & Christopher B. Barrett & David R. Just, 2011. "Differential Nutritional Responses across Various Income Sources Among East African Pastoralists: Intrahousehold Effects, Missing Markets and Mental Accounting," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 20(2), pages 341-375, March.
    16. Zhou, De & Yu, Xiaohua & Abler, David & Chen, Danhong, 2020. "Projecting meat and cereals demand for China based on a meta-analysis of income elasticities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    17. Raphael Babatunde & Adedeji Adejobi & Segun Fakayode, 2010. "Income and Calorie Intake among Farming Households in Rural Nigeria: Results of Parametric and Nonparametric Analysis," Journal of Agricultural Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 2(2), pages 135-135, May.
    18. Biswabhusan Bhuyan & Bimal Kishore Sahoo & Damodar Suar, 2020. "Quantile Regression Analysis of Predictors of Calorie Demand in India: An Implication for Sustainable Development Goals," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 18(4), pages 825-859, December.
    19. Choudhury, Samira & Headey, Derek D., 2016. "What drives diversification of national food supplies? A cross-country analysis," IFPRI discussion papers 1581, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    20. Kaushal, Neeraj & Muchomba, Felix M., 2015. "How Consumer Price Subsidies affect Nutrition," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 25-42.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:apecpp:v:37:y:2015:i:4:p:575-601.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.