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Calorie Elasticities with Income Dynamics: Evidence from the Literature

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  • 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.

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  • 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.
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    6. Arsham Reisinezhad, 2018. "Economic Growth and Income Inequality in Resource Countries: Theory and Evidence," Working Papers halshs-01707976, HAL.
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    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.
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    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.

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