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The Potential Impact of Changes in Income Distribution on Food Demand and Human Nutrition
Author(s) -
PinstrupAndersen Per,
Caicedo Elizabeth
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1239937
Subject(s) - economics , distribution (mathematics) , commodity , income distribution , population , income elasticity of demand , agricultural economics , econometrics , environmental health , market economy , mathematics , mathematical analysis , inequality , medicine
A procedure is developed to estimate nutritional and food demand implications of changing consumer income distribution. Findings from an empirical application to the population of Cali, Colombia, suggest that changes in income distribution can effectively improve human nutrition, even in the absence of food supply expansions. These same changes also have a large impact on the demand for individual food commodities. In societies where significant changes occur in income distribution, commodity demand projections preferably should be based on individual stratum rather than on average estimates of price and income elasticities.