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Shopping around: how households adjusted food spending over the Great Recession

Author

Listed:
  • Rachel Griffith

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University of Manchester)

  • Martin O'Connell

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University of Wisconsin)

  • Kate Smith

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

Over the Great Recession UK households reduced real food expenditure. We show that they were able to maintain the number of calories that they purchased, and the nutritional quality of these calories, by adjusting their shopping behaviour. We document the mechanisms that households used. We motivate our analysis with a model of shopping behaviour in which households adjust shopping effort and the characteristics of their shopping basket in response to economic shocks. We use detailed longitudinal data and focus on within household changes in basket characteristics and proxies for shopping effort.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Griffith & Martin O'Connell & Kate Smith, 2015. "Shopping around: how households adjusted food spending over the Great Recession," IFS Working Papers W15/29, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:15/29
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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