MEASURING FOOD MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY: GROSS- OR NET-OUTPUT APPROACH?

The measured multifactor productivity index of the value of shipments shows a trend of declining and then moving up and down along the level of the base year 1975. The influence of technological changes to the output growth is rather limited. The measured labor productivity index of the value-added exhibits a trend of steady increase over years. The contribution of the food-manufacturing sector to the growth of GDP increased during 1975-97.Food manufacturing, multifactor productivity, labor productivity, Agribusiness, Productivity Analysis,

HOW ECONOMIC FACTORS INFLUENCE THE NUTRIENT CONTENT OF DIETS

Economic factors such as food prices and consumer income affect food choices with consequences for the availability of nutrients. A model is developed to estimate how the availability of 28 nutrients would change as consumers alter their food purchases in response to changes in food prices and income.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Measuring Inverse Demand Systems and Consumer Welfare

Demand and Price Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

On Measuring Consumer Welfare Effects of Trade Reform

We develop a measure of consumer welfare by approximating Hicksian compensating variation as a function of all commodity prices and compensated price elasticities. The unique feature of this approach is that all direct- and cross-commodity effects of a demand system are incorporated into the welfare measurement. This approach is useful for developing an instrumental model to evaluate the consumer welfare effects of trade reform. For illustration, the proposed procedure is applied to Taiwan's meat industry, and various scenarios are considered to show the effects of eliminating meat tariff rates on the quantities of meat demanded and on the savings of meat expenditures.Consumer/Household Economics, International Relations/Trade,

How Increased Food and Energy Prices Affect Consumer Welfare

We analyze the consumer welfare effects of increased food and energy prices and find that the own-price elasticities of both food and energy are relatively inelastic, which explain well the dynamics of the recent soaring food and energy prices. The estimated demand elasticities are then used to analyze the consumer welfare effects of price changes in food and energy. The results indicate that an increase of food and energy prices would incur a substantial consumer welfare loss, which is a heavy burden for low income households.Demand elasticity, compensating variation, consumer welfare, Demand and Price Analysis,

Do Americans Change Toward Healthy Diets?

American’s nutritional and health status appear to be trending toward healthier diets, as measured by a reduction in cholesterol intake and an increase in calcium intake. The levels of food energy and total fats, however, increased substantially.Changes in American diet, nutrient economic responses, Health Economics and Policy, Poster 3601001,

ESTIMATION OF FOOD DEMAND AND NUTRIENT ELASTICITIES FROM HOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATA

A methodology for estimating a demand system from household survey data is developed and applied to the 1987-88 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey data. The empirical results are sets of estimated demand elasticities for households segmented with different income levels. In addition, we apply these demand elasticities to estimate the implied nutrient elasticities for low-income households. The estimation results are useful in evaluating some food policy and program effects related to households of a specific income level.Demand elasticities, household survey data, food quality effect, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

HOW DAIRY PRICE CHANGES INFLUENCE THE CONSUMERS' WELFARE

The Hicksian compensating variation is used to evaluate the consumers' welfare effects of price changes because of some hypothesized removals of Federal dairy policies and programs. The results indicate that consumers would reduce dairy expenditures from about one to two billion dollars nationally.compensating variation, dairy demand elasticities, dairy policies and programs., Demand and Price Analysis,

DEMAND FOR FOOD QUANTITY AND QUALITY IN CHINA

As their incomes rise, Chinese consumers are changing their diets and demanding greater quality, convenience, and safety in food. Food expenditures grow faster than quantities purchased as income rises, suggesting that consumers with higher incomes purchase more expensive foods. The top-earning Chinese households appear to have reached a point where the income elasticity of demand for quantity of most foods is near zero. China’s food market is becoming segmented. The demand for quality by high-income households has fueled recent growth in modern food retail and sales of premium-priced food and beverage products. Food expenditures and incomes have grown much more slowly for rural and low-income urban households.China, food, consumption, demand, income, elasticities, Engel curve, households, rural, urban, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Changes in the nutrient content of American diets

As obesity and being overweight continue to increase in the United States, public concern is growing about the quality of American diets. We compare the changes in nutrients contributed by major food groups in the periods 1953-1980 and 1981-2008 and find that there is reduced cholesterol intake and increased calcium intake, but the levels of food energy and total fats increase substantially. To understand how economic factors affect the overall nutritional quality of American diets, we estimate a complete food demand system and conduct a nutrient demand analysis. Among our findings, we conclude that some price manipulations such as subsidizing fruits and vegetables could be effective to increase produce consumption, but the effects of taxing fats to reduce the consumption of fats could be limited. Increasing income would improve intakes of nutrients such as calcium and various vitamins (likely now insufficient), but intakes of nutrients such as energy, saturated fats, and cholesterol (likely now excessive) would also rise with increased income