FOR WHOM REDUCED PRICES COUNT: A CENSORED QUANTILE REGRESSION ANALYSIS OF VEGETABLE DEMAND

Abstract

Low consumption of vegetables is linked to many diseases. From a health perspective, the distribution of consumption is at least as important as mean consumption. We investigated the differential effects of policy changes on high- and low-consuming households by using 15,700 observations from 1986 to 1997. Many households did not purchase vegetables during the two-week survey periods and censored as well as ordinary quantile regressions were estimated. Removal of the value added tax for vegetables, income increases, and health information are unlikely to substantially increase purchases in low-consuming households. Nevertheless, information provision is cheap and best targeted at low-consuming households.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,