Quadratic Differential Demand Systems and the Retail Demand for Pork in Great Britain

The primary objective of this paper is to derive a general synthetic quadratic (rank 3) differential demand system which nests within it a range of testable differential demand models including the quadratic AIDS, CBS, Rotterdam and NBR systems. A model selection test procedure is also outlined. These differential systems are then applied and tested to analyse the monthly retail demand for cuts of pork in Great Britain over the period 1989–2000. The empirical results suggest that a quadratic differential AIDS model is most appropriate for the pork demand system studied, but that the need for inclusion of quadratic income/expenditure terms is not universal for every cut within the demand system. Quadratic expenditure effects were appropriate for pork chops and leg roasts, but log linear expenditure effects were adequate for bellies, shoulders and loin roasts. Roasting cuts were expenditure and own price elastic, with pork loins, chops and bellies all expenditure and own price inelastic.     

Food scares, advertising, and the demand for meat cuts in Great Britain

Retail demand systems for 19 different cuts of meat for beef, lamb, pork, bacon and poultry in Great Britain are estimated from monthly time series of consumer expenditure from 1989-2000 using a two stage budget allocation process and an LA/AIDS specification. The unconditional expenditure, own and cross price elasticities are derived for the individual meat cuts. The impact of adverse publicity from meat scares, especially BSE, and of positive publicity through consumer promotion and advertising are incorporated into the modelling. Meat scares produced a reallocation of consumer spending from red to white meats during the 1990s. The impact of species-based advertising was shown to have complex spillover effects both within and between meat species, and the response of consumer demand to advertising was considerably less than to adverse publicity.     

Updated Estimates of the Costs Associated with Thirty Four Endemic Livestock Diseases in Great Britain: A Note

This Note outlines the further development of a system of models for the estimation of the costs of livestock diseases first presented by Bennett (2003). The models have been developed to provide updated and improved estimates of the costs associated with 34 endemic diseases of livestock in Great Britain, using border prices and including assessments of the impact of diseases on human health and animal welfare. Results show that, of the diseases studied, mastitis has the highest costs for cattle diseases, enzootic abortion for sheep diseases, swine influenza for pig diseases and salmonellosis for poultry diseases.     

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND SURPLUS LABOUR IN EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURE, 1952–1972

This paper has two main purposes. First to determine if technical innovation has occurred in Egyptian agriculture and whether or not it has been labour-using in nature. Secondly, to determine whether or not the marginal product of labour in Egyptian agriculture has been negative (surplus labour). The time period covered by the study is 1952 to 1972. The above objectives were met by estimating a weak disposability of inputs (WDI) production function. The characteristics of the weak disposability of inputs function were discussed in great detail, since much of the profession is unfamiliar with this functional form. The function was then estimated and the results seemed to indicate that this functional form was appropriate for Egyptian agriculture. The results of the estimation process indicated that labour-using technical innovation had indeed occurred, although at a very slow rate. In addition, for most of the time period covered the marginal product of labour was indeed negative.     

Household Food Demand in Burkina Faso: Implications for Food Policy

Chronic food production deficits since the early 1970s have prompted policymakers of Burkina Faso to emphasize technological research with the goal of increasing the production of the most-consumed locally-grown cereals: sorghum, millet and maize. Meanwhile, urban consumers have been developing preferences for rice and wheat, cereals that are primarily imported. This study estimates demand relationships among food items in Ouagadougou, Burkina. The results of the estimation suggest that prices, income, household composition, education, marital status and urbanization were jointly important in explaining household expenditure allocations. Both local and imported cereal consumption responded positively to an income increase. However, incremental income changes would lead to relatively greater consumption of locally produced cereals by low-income households whereas high-income households would consume relatively more wheat and rice. The household model is then used to demonstrate its relevance in addressing food policy issues, by forecasting the levels of urban grain demand under alternative income and demographic scenarios. With increased production due to advances in technology, the urban demand levels do not exhaust the rural surplus of local cereals, but deficits persist in the rice-wheat sector. The results underscore the importance of technological research since Burkina could become self-sufficient in at least the production of sorghum, millet and maize.     

Some Consequences of the 1994–1995 Coffee Boom for Growth and Poverty Reduction in Uganda

This paper reports a computable general equilibrium analysis that explores the consequences of the 1994–1995 increase in the international price of coffee for Uganda's economy. Evidence is found for a small effect on both medium‐term growth and poverty reduction. Aid dependence is among the reasons why this effect is not found to be larger. Major beneficiary groups are not primarily the farmers to which the windfall initially accrued, but urban wage earners and the urban self‐employed.     

The ‘Direct Costs’of Livestock Disease: The Development of a System of Models for the Analysis of 30 Endemic Livestock Diseases in Great Britain

The ‘direct costs’attributable to 30 different endemic diseases of farm animals in Great Britain are estimated using a standardised method to construct a simple model for each disease that includes consideration of disease prevention and treatment costs. The models so far developed provide a basis for further analyses including cost‐benefit analyses for the economic assessment of disease control options. The approach used reflects the inherent livestock disease information constraints, which limit the application of other economic analytical methods. It is a practical and transparent approach that is relatively easily communicated to veterinary scientists and policy makers. The next step is to develop the approach by incorporating wider economic considerations into the analyses in a way that will demonstrate to policy makers and others the importance of an economic perspective to livestock disease issues.     

Spanish Demand for Food Away from Home: Analysis of Panel Data

We analyse the Spanish demand for food away from home (FAFH). A panel dataset is built and appropriate techniques for estimating limited dependent variable models are applied. Results indicate that where there are zero expenditures, these are largely due to infrequency of purchase rather than to abstention, or for economic reasons. Furthermore, important differences appear among households. Households whose head is a highly educated person, male, young and living on a salary in a large town is more likely to purchase FAFH. FAFH expenditure responses to an increase in total per capita expenditure are markedly different depending on the age of the household's head, their employment status and also the size of the resident's town. The lowest elasticity is shown by single‐person households, between 36 and 55 years old, employed and living in large towns, for whom FAFH has become a necessity. On the other hand, FAFH remains a luxury for unemployed couples with one or two children.     

An Empirical Comparison of "Frisch" and "Time Series" Demand price Elasticities for individual Commodities

In a classical article in 1959, Ragnar Frisch [8] developed a procedure, which, under the assumption of want independence¹ and given commodity budget shares, income elasticities, and one own-price elasticity, allows one to calculate a complete matrix of own and cross price elasticities. Between broad commodity groups such an assumption (want independence) has becme increasingly accepted and in fact under the label of separability has formed the basis for a family of demand models that are increasingly used to estimate demand elasticities for broad commodity groups (the linear expenditure system, the Rotterdam model, etc.). At the individual commodity level however, the assumption of want independence seems less viable, e.g., the utility one derives from pork is in general not considered independent from one's consumption of beef. However, it has become increasingly common (and apparently acceptable) to find the Frisch methodology utilized to develop demand price elasticity estimates for individual agricultural commodities [4, 7, 17].     

Seasonal and Spatial Variations in Demand for and Elasticities of Fish Products in the United States: An Analysis Based on Market‐Level Scanner Data

Seasonally and spatially varying demand elasticities would provide important information to seafood producers and marketers as well as policy makers. We analyzed the effects of season and space on (i) demand (translation effects) and (ii) price as well as expenditure elasticities of demand (scaling effects) for 13 finfish species in the United States. The paper used market‐level scanner data for 52 U.S. markets. Results suggest that not only the quantity demanded, but also the demand elasticities vary across species, seasons, and geography; not only does the degree of competition among finfish products vary considerably over space, but substituting products themselves change. These results highlight the importance of studying consumer demand behavior at species level, across seasons and geography, particularly as it sheds important light on some important policy issues such as the potential substitution between catfish and tilapia in the U.S. markets.     

Economies of Scale and the Demand for Food in Switzerland: Parametric and Non‐Parametric Analysis

This paper examines the role of household public goods arising from co‐residence and economies of scale in the allocation of household expenditure. Using both parametric and non‐parametric methods, the paper tests the theoretical prediction that in the presence of shared public goods, larger households should have higher per capita consumption of private goods like food, provided that they do not substitute too much towards the effectively cheaper public good. The results indicate that, at constant per capita total expenditure, the per capita demand for food declines with household size. No evidence is found in favour of the hypothesis that the endogeneity of male and female hours of work in the labour force could be responsible for this anomaly. However, an examination of the role of direct economies of scale in explaining this negative relationship yielded a negative relationship between household size and quality adjusted unit values, suggesting that the effects of direct economies of scale dominate those generated by public goods.     

The Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961) and farm households’ adoption of technology: evidence from China*

The diffusion of new technology is an important driver of agricultural development, especially in the developing world. In this research, we follow the persistence of major historical events, employing a difference-in-differences method to carefully examine the long-term effect of China’s 1959–1961 famine on farm households’ current decisions to adopt technology. Further, we combine a mediating regression procedure with a bootstrap method to explore the mechanism of impact in this relationship. Overall, this study provides strong empirical evidence that the Great Famine attenuated technology adoption; moreover, a 1% increase in exposure to famine in childhood and adolescence resulted in a 0.137% decrease in the probability of technology adoption when controlling for village dummies. An analysis of mediating effects reveals that risk preferences account for the channel of famine persistence.