Variatio Delectat Consumer Demand for Food Diversity

Whereas a large number of empirical studies have been devoted to analysing consumer demand for specific products, much less attention has been paid to the household?s demand for product variety (the number of different products consumed in a specific time period). This paper analyses consumer demand for food variety in Germany. The econometric analysis of 4.632 household in 1995 suggests, that variety increases with income and the number of children aged between 6 and 18 years and is significantly higher if the family lives in larger cities in East-Germany, and the housekeeping person is not additionally working full-time. A single male household consumes a significantly smaller number of different food products. The significant (and positive) impact of household income on food variety is in line with the hypothesis that consumption evolves along a hierarchical order as income increases. --

Chancen der Beteiligung privater Haushalte am Produktivvermögen

Unter den jetzigen Rahmenbedingungen halten im Durchschnitt lediglich 12 % der Haushalte der alten bzw. 3 % der Haushalte der neuen Bundesländer Aktien, d.h. dieser Anteil an Haushalten beteiligt sich bereits freiwillig am Produktivvermögen. Um Beteiligungen in größerem Umfang zu realisieren, müßten folglich hohe Anreize geschaffen werden. Die geringsten Präferenzen Aktien zu bilden, haben Haushalte mit geringem Einkommen, geringer Vermögensstreuung und geringem Vermögen. Die Präferenzen dieser Haushalte sind noch geringer, wenn sich der Wohnsitz in den neuen Bundesländern befindet. Gleichgültig in welcher Form eine höhere Beteiligung der Haushalte am Produktivvermögen erreicht werden soll, ob über eine Schaffung höherer Anreize zur Erhöhung einer freiwilligen Beteiligung oder ob über eine Ausübung von Zwang: wenn nicht entsprechende Differenzierungen eingeschlossen sind, besteht bei politischen Eingriffen die Gefahr, diese Haushaltsgruppen zu benachteiligen. --

Zur Notwendigkeit der Berücksichtigung des Vermögens bei der Beurteilung sozialpolitischer Maßnahmen

Für die Beurteilung von Verteilungswirkungen sozialpolitischer Maßnahmen ist die Kenntnis der sozialen Lage privater Haushalte zwingend erforderlich. Zur Bestimmung der sozialen Lage wird im allgemeinen das Kriterium Einkommen herangezogen. Erstmalig für die Bundesrepublik wird in dieser Analyse zusätzlich das Vermögen in Form von Geld-, Grund-, Gebrauchs- und Rentenvermögen berücksichtigt. Es wird gezeigt, daß ein Einbezug des Vermögens deutliche Verschiebungen sozialer Lagen zur Folge haben kann. Dabei kommt insbesondere dem häufig vernachlässigten Rentenvermögen1 eine hohe Bedeutung zu. Zur empirischen Untermauerung werden im weiteren Haushaltskonstellationen ermittelt, die systematisch gering bzw. hoch mit Vermögen ausgestattet sind. Abgeleitet aus Ansätzen der Theorie der Vermögensbildung wird ein ökonometrisches Modell geschätzt. Grundlage der empirischen Analyse bilden die rund 45.000 bundesdeutschen Haushalte der Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe 1988. --

Elastizitäten der Nachfrage privater Haushalte nach Nahrungsmitteln – Schätzung eines AIDS auf Basis der Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe 2003

This paper presents price and income elasticities of food demand in Germany. Using cross sectional data from the 2003 German income and consumption survey a Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System is employed. Two aspects which have to be taken into account when using cross-sectional data are insufficient price information and zero expenditures. An approach of COX and WOHLGENANT (1986) is applied to derive quality adjusted prices. In order to take into account censoring of the dependent variables a procedure of SHONKWILER and YEN (1999) was employed. A high expenditure elasticity is found for meat demand. The highest own-price elasticities are for the demand for meat/-products and milk/-products. Within the meat group, beef demand shows a particular low own-price elasticity. The cross-price elasticities indicate more complementary relationships than was expected. Elasticity analyses differentiated by household groups suggest that elasticities for meat differ between these groups.food demand, elasticities, Germany, AIDS, Demand and Price Analysis,

Food risk perceptions by different consumer groups in Germany

This paper presents an analysis of the changing food risk perceptions of German consumers over the period 1992 to 2002. We analyse the respondents' general risk attitudes and their specific perceptions of food risks. Using cluster analysis we generate a typology of four consumer types. One group is worried about natural food risks, the second does not worry about any types of food risks, the third is concerned about technical food risks and the fourth is concerned about all food risks. A multinomial logit analysis identifies factors that describe the classification of households in this grouping. General risk attitudes and knowledge about food risk are significant variables in the explanation. --cluster analysis,food safety,multinomial logit,risk perceptions,risk typology

The Taste for Variety: A Hedonic Analysis

Based on the model of consumers' variety-seeking behavior introduced by Anderson et al. (1992), this paper derives a hedonic price function for a households' consumption bundle. The price a consumer pays for her consumption bundle reflects the values of the underlying attributes of goods purchased but also accounts for any preference for variety that she might have. The empirical analysis is conducted for 3,240 German households and their expenditure on 182 different soft drinks over a six-month period. We find that consumers have a preference for variety in food consumption, ceteris paribus. Furthermore, the per-unit price is found to be significantly larger for higher income households, as well as households where the principal wage earner has a high level of education. Larger households tend to spend less on soft drinks per unit.consumer demand, taste for variety, food products, hedonic analysis, Germany, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, C21, D12,

Die M�rkte f�r Fleisch und Fleischprodukte

Agricultural and Food Policy, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade,

Änderungen der Struktur der Nachfrage nach Nahrungs-und Genußmitteln privater Haushalte und deren Bedeutung für die Ernährungs- und Agrarwirtschaft Schleswig-Holsteins

Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die derzeit bestehende Lücke an aktuellen Informationen bezüglich der Struktur der Nahrungsmittelnachfrage sowie bezüglich zukünftiger, haushaltsspezifischer Nachfragereaktionen zum Teil zu schließen und somit eine bessere Grundlage zur Entwicklung von Handlungsstrategien für die Ernährungs- und Agrarwirtschaft zu schaffen. Von Interesse ist hierbei neben der Entwicklung der Ausgaben für Nahrungsmittel auch die Entwicklung der Nachfrage nach Nahrungsmittelqualität. Sowohl bei der Analyse der Ausgaben als auch bei der Qualitätsanalyse stehen die Reaktionen verschiedener sozioökonomischer Haushaltsgruppen (z.B. Singles, ältere Haushalte, reichere Haushalte etc.) im Vordergrund. In Kenntnis der Nachfragespezifika dieser Haushaltsgruppen und der erwarteten demographischen Veränderungen soll eine Prognose zur Struktur der zukünftigen Nahrungsmittelausgaben durchgeführt werden kann. --

Dietary patterns of adolescents in Germany - Associations with nutrient intake and other health related lifestyle characteristics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns among a representative sample of German adolescents and their associations with energy and nutrient intake, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, and overweight status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the analysis, data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents were used. The survey included a comprehensive dietary history interview conducted among 1272 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Dietary patterns were determined with principal component analysis (PCA) based on 48 food groups, for boys and girls separately.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three dietary patterns among boys and two among girls were identified. Among boys, high adherence to the 'western' pattern was associated with higher age, lower socioeconomic status (SES), and lower physical activity level (PA). High adherence to the 'healthy' pattern among boys, but not among girls, was associated with higher SES, and higher PA. Among boys, high adherence to the 'traditional' pattern was associated with higher age. Among girls, high adherence to the 'traditional and western' pattern was associated with lower age, lower SES and more hours watching TV per day. The nutrient density of several vitamins and minerals, particularly of B-vitamins and calcium, increased with increasing scores of the 'healthy' pattern among both sexes. Conversely, with increasing scores of the 'western' pattern among boys, most nutrient densities decreased, particularly of fibre, beta-carotene, vitamin D, biotin and calcium. Among girls with higher scores of the 'traditional and western' pattern, nutrient densities of vitamin A, C, E, K and folate decreased. Among boys, high adherence to the 'traditional' pattern was correlated with higher densities of vitamin B₁₂and vitamin D and lower densities of fibre, magnesium and iron. No significant associations between dietary patterns and overweight were found.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Higher scores for dietary patterns characterized by higher consumption of take away food, meat, confectionary and soft drinks ('western' and 'traditional and western') were found particularly among 16- to 17-years old boys and among adolescents with lower SES. These patterns were also associated with higher energy density, higher percent of energy from unsaturated fatty acids and lower percent of energy from carbohydrates as well as lower nutrient densities of several vitamins and minerals. Therefore, nutritional interventions should try to focus more on adolescents with lower SES and boys in general.</p

Associations between dietary patterns and biomarkers of nutrient status and cardiovascular risk factors among adolescents in Germany: results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents in Germany (KiGGS)

Background: The aim of this study is to analyse prevailing dietary patterns among German adolescents and their associations with biomarkers of nutrient status and cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: Analyses were based on data from the nationwide, representative Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents in Germany, conducted between 2003 and 2006 (KiGGS baseline). Dietary habits of 12 to 17 year olds (2646 boys and 2551 girls) were determined using 34 food groups assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Principal component analysis was applied to determine the major dietary patterns. The associations between dietary patterns and biomarkers were analysed using linear regression analyses. Results: We identified three major dietary patterns among boys and two among girls. Higher scores of the ‘healthy’ patterns (fruits, salad vegetables, wholemeal bread) were associated with higher levels of serum folate and lower levels of homocysteine among both sexes and higher levels of serum vitamin B12 among girls. Conversely, higher scores of the ‘western’ pattern among boys (salty snacks, burger, French fries) were associated with a lower ferritin level and lower diastolic blood pressure. The ‘traditional’ pattern among boys (white bread, processed meat, meat) was associated with a lower folate level and the ‘western and traditional’ pattern among girls (salty snacks, burger, French fries) with lower folate and higher homocysteine levels. No associations between dietary patterns and blood lipids, HbA1c and uric acid were found. The mean age of boys with higher scores in the ‘western’ pattern was higher, whereas the mean age of girls with higher scores in the ‘western and traditional’ dietary patterns was lower. Conclusions: Adolescents with higher scores in the ‘healthy’ dietary patterns had a better nutrient profile. Therefore, healthy dietary patterns should be promoted early in life, with a special focus on the sex differences