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Calorie intake and income elasticities in EU countries: A convergence analysis using cointegration *
Author(s) -
Angulo Ana M.,
Gil Jose M.,
Gratia Azucena
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
papers in regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1435-5957
pISSN - 1056-8190
DOI - 10.1111/j.1435-5597.2001.tb01793.x
Subject(s) - cointegration , economics , convergence (economics) , econometrics , calorie , consumption (sociology) , permanent income hypothesis , multivariate statistics , demographic economics , macroeconomics , mathematics , biology , statistics , life cycle hypothesis , endocrinology , social science , sociology
. We want to determine here whether the trans‐European consumer reacts to changes in total food consumption or changes in income equalise in the long run. Do total calorie intake elasticities and income elasticities converge in the long‐run? A demand system is estimated for each European country. The proportional caloric intakes of the various food groups are analyzed as endogenous variables, and two exogenous variables (total calorie intake and income), are both defined in log terms. As all variables are I(1) and non‐cointegrated, demand systems are specified in first differences. Finally, we use Johansen and Juselius's multivariate cointegration tests to test for the convergence of calorie intake and income elasticities. Empirical results indicate a very limited convergence between certain products and countries considered, suggesting that country idiosyncrasies still play an important role in consumer behavior.