Open AccessThe Nature Of Demand For Companion Pet Health Care
Author(s) -
Nasser Daneshvary,
R. Keith Schwer
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied business research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.149
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2157-8834
pISSN - 0892-7626
DOI - 10.19030/jabr.v9i4.5986
Subject(s) - companion animal , health care , business , economics , demographic economics , agricultural economics , labour economics , veterinary medicine , medicine , economic growth
More than 49 percent of American households own companion animals and spend nearly five billion dollars annually for veterinary care. This paper examines the demand for cat and dog health care. The estimated price and income elasticities for overall demand are -0.12 and +0.80, respectively. However, cat owners show more sensitivity to both price and income than do dog owners. In addition, these sensitivities vary with the location and the practice composition of veterinarian firms.