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Demand for Household Food Waste

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  • Craig E Landry
  • Travis A Smith

Abstract

We estimate the demand for food waste within the household using observational data of food stock usage and meal consumption, the net of which forms a proxy for unconsumed food. We find that food waste is a luxury good with an expenditure elasticity ranging from 1.1 to 1.4. The wasting of food is also rather responsive to price: our own‐price elasticity estimates range from ‐1.9 to ‐1.3. We further find differences in the demand for food waste related to household membership structure, human capital, joint preparation of meals within the household, and geographic location.

Suggested Citation

  • Craig E Landry & Travis A Smith, 2019. "Demand for Household Food Waste," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(1), pages 20-36, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:apecpp:v:41:y:2019:i:1:p:20-36
    DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppy037
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    Cited by:

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    2. Aino Friman & Nina Hyytiä, 2022. "The Economic and Welfare Effects of Food Waste Reduction on a Food-Production-Driven Rural Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Cariappa, AG Adeeth & Acharya, Kamlesh Kumar & Adhav, Chaitanya Ashok & Sendhil, R. & Ramasundaram, P., 2022. "COVID-19 induced lockdown effects on agricultural commodity prices and consumer behaviour in India – Implications for food loss and waste management," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
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    5. Sarah Rohr & Stuart Mounter & Derek Baker, 2024. "Implications for Economic Sustainability of Food Systems from Reductions in Household Food Waste: The Case of the Australian Apple Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-14, January.
    6. Paroissien, Emmanuel & Beatty, Timothy K.M. & Nebout, Antoine, 2024. "Household food waste and the opportunity cost of time," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    7. Kazuki Nakamura & Daizo Kojima & Mitsuyoshi Ando, 2022. "What Reduces Household Food Waste in Japan? Nation-Wide and Region-Specific Contributing Factors in Urban and Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-14, March.
    8. Yenerall, Jackie & Jensen, Kimberly L., 2022. "Household Food Waste, Food Shopping Behavior and Time Use," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322304, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Yu, Yang & Fan, Linlin, 2021. "How Does Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Affect Household Food Waste?," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313984, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Benjamin Scharadin & Yang Yu & Edward C. Jaenicke, 2021. "Household time activities, food waste, and diet quality: the impact of non-marginal changes due to COVID-19," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 399-428, June.
    11. Jayson L. Lusk & Brenna Ellison, 2020. "Economics of household food waste," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 68(4), pages 379-386, December.
    12. Vargas-Lopez, Adrian & Cicatiello, Clara & Principato, Ludovica & Secondi, Luca, 2022. "Consumer expenditure, elasticity and value of food waste: A Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System for evaluating changes in Mexico during COVID-19," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    13. Sana Abusin & Noor Al-Emadi & Brian Mandikiana, 2023. "An Evaluation of the Alignment of Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution Technologies with the Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-14, August.

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