IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/empeco/v68y2025i6d10.1007_s00181-025-02718-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reaction effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Thailand’s household expenditure patterns

Author

Listed:
  • Chutarat Noosuwan

    (Kasetsart University, Sriracha Campus)

  • Christopher Gan

    (Lincoln University)

  • Tullaya Boonsaeng

    (New Mexico State University)

Abstract

This study examines reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic based on changes in demand. The Exact Affine Stone Index demand system with provincial consumer price indices is used to investigate the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Thailand’s household expenditure patterns. The results indicate that Thai households substituted their expenditure between commodity groups towards home-cooked food, mortgage and rent, and health care and away from transport. Our heterogeneity analysis specifies that, based on marginal effects and expenditure and price elasticities, urban households with less educated heads experience an imperative reaction by being more vulnerable to food during the pandemic. Urban households with less educated heads, facing higher-risk perception, are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand.

Suggested Citation

  • Chutarat Noosuwan & Christopher Gan & Tullaya Boonsaeng, 2025. "Reaction effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Thailand’s household expenditure patterns," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 68(6), pages 2587-2654, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:68:y:2025:i:6:d:10.1007_s00181-025-02718-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-025-02718-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00181-025-02718-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00181-025-02718-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rachel Griffith & Martin O'Connell & Kate Smith, 2016. "Shopping Around: How Households Adjusted Food Spending Over the Great Recession," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(330), pages 247-280, April.
    2. McCullough, Ellen & Zhen, Chen & Shin, Soye & Lu, Meichen & Arsenault, Joanne, 2022. "The role of food preferences in determining diet quality for Tanzanian consumers," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    3. Duarte, Fabian, 2012. "Price elasticity of expenditure across health care services," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 824-841.
    4. Deaton, Angus, 1988. "Quality, Quantity, and Spatial Variation of Price," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(3), pages 418-430, June.
    5. Bui, Dzung & Dräger, Lena & Hayo, Bernd & Nghiem, Giang, 2022. "The effects of fiscal policy on households during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Thailand and Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    6. Brenna Ellison & Brandon McFadden & Bradley J. Rickard & Norbert L. W. Wilson, 2021. "Examining Food Purchase Behavior and Food Values During the COVID‐19 Pandemic," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 58-72, March.
    7. Jonas Pendzialek & Dusan Simic & Stephanie Stock, 2016. "Differences in price elasticities of demand for health insurance: a systematic review," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 17(1), pages 5-21, January.
    8. Chen Zhen & Eric A. Finkelstein & James M. Nonnemaker & Shawn A. Karns & Jessica E. Todd, 2014. "Predicting the Effects of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes on Food and Beverage Demand in a Large Demand System," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(1), pages 1-25.
    9. Marlena Piekut & Kamil Piekut, 2022. "Changes in Patterns of Consumer Spending in European Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, October.
    10. Lei Ning & Yuqin Wang, 2020. "Quantitative Analysis of the COVID-19 Pandemic Shock to Household Consumption in China," Frontiers of Economics in China-Selected Publications from Chinese Universities, Higher Education Press, vol. 15(3), pages 355-379, September.
    11. Arthur Lewbel & Krishna Pendakur, 2009. "Tricks with Hicks: The EASI Demand System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(3), pages 827-863, June.
    12. Enerelt Murakami, 2022. "Immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on household economic activities and food security in Tajikistan," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 259-291, July.
    13. Eunseong Ma, 2019. "The Heterogeneous Responses of Consumption between Poor and Rich to Government Spending Shocks," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(7), pages 1999-2028, October.
    14. Tatyana Deryugina & Alexander MacKay & Julian Reif, 2020. "The Long-Run Dynamics of Electricity Demand: Evidence from Municipal Aggregation," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 86-114, January.
    15. David Finck & Peter Tillmann, 2022. "Pandemic Shocks and Household Spending," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(2), pages 273-299, April.
    16. Bakhtavoryan, Rafael & Hovhannisyan, Vardges & Devadoss, Stephen & Lopez, Jose, 2021. "An Empirical Evaluation of Egg Demand in the United States," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(2), pages 280-300, May.
    17. Boonsaeng, Tullaya & Carpio, Carlos E., 2019. "A Comparison of Food Demand Estimation from Homescan and Consumer Expenditure Survey Data," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 44(01), January.
    18. Mahmud, Mahreen & Riley, Emma, 2021. "Household response to an extreme shock: Evidence on the immediate impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on economic outcomes and well-being in rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    19. Diane Alexander & Ezra Karger, 2023. "Do Stay-at-Home Orders Cause People to Stay at Home? Effects of Stay-at-Home Orders on Consumer Behavior," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(4), pages 1017-1027, July.
    20. Wijitbusaba Marome & Rajib Shaw, 2021. "COVID-19 Response in Thailand and Its Implications on Future Preparedness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-10, January.
    21. Kaicker, Nidhi & Gupta, Aashi & Gaiha, Raghav, 2022. "Covid-19 pandemic and food security in India: Can authorities alleviate the disproportionate burden on the disadvantaged?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 963-980.
    22. David A. Hensher, 2020. "What might Covid-19 mean for mobility as a service (MaaS)?," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(5), pages 551-556, July.
    23. Gloede, Oliver & Menkhoff, Lukas & Waibel, Hermann, 2015. "Shocks, Individual Risk Attitude, and Vulnerability to Poverty among Rural Households in Thailand and Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 54-78.
    24. Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool‐Tasie & Awa Sanou & Thomas Reardon & Ben Belton, 2021. "Demand for Imported versus Domestic Fish in Nigeria," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(3), pages 782-804, September.
    25. Tullaya Boonsaeng & Carlos E. Carpio, 2020. "Budget Allocation Patterns of U.S. Households across Income Levels in the 21st Century," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 342-387, March.
    26. Ratana Sapbamrer & Jiraporn Chittrakul & Wachiranun Sirikul & Amornphat Kitro & Wilawan Chaiut & Pattarika Panya & Patchareeya Amput & Eakasit Chaipin & Chatchada Sutalangka & Suttinee Sidthilaw & Por, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Daily Lives, Agricultural Working Lives, and Mental Health of Farmers in Northern Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-15, January.
    27. Clement O. Codjia & Sayed H. Saghaian, 2022. "Determinants of Food Expenditure Patterns: Evidence from U.S. Consumers in the Context of the COVID-19 Price Shocks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, July.
    28. Stephen Roll & Yung Chun & Olga Kondratjeva & Mathieu Despard & Talia Meital Schwartz-Tayri & Michal Grinstein-Weiss, 2022. "Household Spending Patterns and Hardships during COVID-19: A Comparative Study of the U.S. and Israel," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 261-281, June.
    29. Long Hai Vo & Kirsten Martinus & Brett Smith, 2023. "A Demand Systems Approach to Understanding Medium‐Term Post‐Pandemic Consumption Trends," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 42(2), pages 183-199, June.
    30. Deaton, Angus S & Muellbauer, John, 1980. "An Almost Ideal Demand System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 312-326, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Kazi Tamim Rahman & Aleksan Shanoyan & Vardges Hovhannisyan, 2024. "Food commodity price changes and consumer welfare in Bangladesh: Valuable lessons for today," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(1), pages 169-188, February.
    2. Biondi, Beatrice & Cornelsen, Laura & Mazzocchi, Mario & Smith, Richard, 2020. "Between preferences and references: Asymmetric price elasticities and the simulation of fiscal policies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 108-128.
    3. Rahul Dhar & Michael Adetayo Olabisi & Iredele Emmanuel Ogunbayo & Nathaniel Siji Olutegbe & Oreoluwa Ibukun Akano & David L. Tschirley, 2024. "Food demand responses to global price shocks: Contrasts in sub-national evidence from Nigeria," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(6), pages 1419-1443, December.
    4. McCullough, Ellen & Zhen, Chen & Shin, Soye & Lu, Meichen & Arsenault, Joanne, 2022. "The role of food preferences in determining diet quality for Tanzanian consumers," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    5. Zhen, Chen & Chen, Yu & Lin, Biing-Hwan & Karns, Shawn & Mancino, Lisa & Ver Ploeg, Michele, 2021. "Do Obese and Nonobese Consumers Respond Differently to Price Changes? Implications of Preference Heterogeneity for Using Food Taxes and Subsidies to Reduce Obesity," MPRA Paper 112697, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Wang, Chengjun & Wang, Rendong & Fei, Ximin & Li, Lei, 2024. "Price effects of residents' consumption carbon emissions: Evidence from rural and urban China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    7. Wang, Shaonan & Zhen, Chen, 2022. "The Impact of the 2009 WIC Food Package Revision on Participants’ Food and Beverage Purchases," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 322390, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Noriko Amano, 2018. "Nutrition Inequality: The Role of Prices, Income, and Preferences," 2018 Meeting Papers 453, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    9. Hovhannisyan, Vardges, "undated". "New Evidence On The Structure Of Food Demand In China: An Easi Demand Model Estimated Via Panel Data Techniques," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236889, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Irz, Xavier & Mazzocchi, Mario & Réquillart, Vincent & Soler, Louis-Georges, 2015. "Research in Food Economics: past trends and new challenges," Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, Editions NecPlus, vol. 96(01), pages 187-237, March.
    11. Andr'es Ram'irez-Hassan & Alejandro L'opez-Vera, 2021. "Semi-parametric estimation of the EASI model: Welfare implications of taxes identifying clusters due to unobserved preference heterogeneity," Papers 2109.07646, arXiv.org.
    12. Juan Carlos Caro & Shu Wen Ng & Ricardo Bonilla & Jorge Tovar & Barry M Popkin, 2017. "Sugary drinks taxation, projected consumption and fiscal revenues in Colombia: Evidence from a QUAIDS model," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, December.
    13. Arthur Lewbel & Samuel Norris & Krishna Pendakur & Xi Qu, 2022. "Consumption peer effects and utility needs in India," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(3), pages 1257-1295, July.
    14. Vardges Hovhannisyan & Sachintha Mendis & Chris Bastian, 2019. "An econometric analysis of demand for food quantity and quality in urban China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(1), pages 3-13, January.
    15. Anurag Sharma & Katharina Hauck & Bruce Hollingsworth & Luigi Siciliani, 2014. "The Effects Of Taxing Sugar‐Sweetened Beverages Across Different Income Groups," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(9), pages 1159-1184, September.
    16. Xiang, Di & Zhan, Lue & Bordignon, Massimo, 2020. "A reconsideration of the sugar sweetened beverage tax in a household production model," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    17. Massimo Bordignon & Di Xiang & Lue Zhan, 2018. "Predicting the Effects of a Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax in a Household Production Model," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def075, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    18. Akat, Shara & Dennis, Elliott J. & Azzam, Azzeddine M., 2025. "Demand for local meat by US public schools: An EASI application to Iowa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    19. Renner, Sebastian & Lay, Jann & Schleicher, Michael, 2017. "The Effects of Energy Price Changes: Heterogeneous Welfare Impacts, Energy Poverty, and CO₂ Emissions in Indonesia," GIGA Working Papers 302, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    20. Yuqing Zheng & Chen Zhen & Daniel Dench & James M. Nonnemaker, 2017. "U.S. Demand for Tobacco Products in a System Framework," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(8), pages 1067-1086, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • F60 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - General
    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General

    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:spr:empeco:v:68:y:2025:i:6:d:10.1007_s00181-025-02718-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.