IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v41y2013icp193-203.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do the urban poor face higher food prices? Evidence from Vietnam

Author

Listed:
  • Gibson, John
  • Kim, Bonggeun

Abstract

Whether there is a poverty penalty, in terms of food prices, is unsettled in the literature after more than four decades of study. Unit values from household surveys suggest that prices vary with income while outlet surveys typically find food prices varying with store type but not with neighborhood income. Most outlet surveys are from rich countries, with just one spatially limited study from a developing country. In this paper we use especially collected food price data from metropolitan areas of Vietnam to test whether the urban poor face higher food prices. Food prices in low-income neighborhoods are 1% lower, on average, than in other neighborhoods. Unit values give a different answer to the question of whether the poor face higher prices and are not suited to answer such a question.

Suggested Citation

  • Gibson, John & Kim, Bonggeun, 2013. "Do the urban poor face higher food prices? Evidence from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 193-203.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:41:y:2013:i:c:p:193-203
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.05.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919213000547
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.05.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Musgrove, Philip & Galindo, Osmil, 1988. "Do the Poor Pay More? Retail Food Prices in Northeast Brazil," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(1), pages 91-109, October.
    2. repec:bla:revinw:v:46:y:2000:i:2:p:201-11 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Frankel, David M. & Gould, Eric D., 2001. "The Retail Price of Inequality," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 219-239, March.
    4. Vu, Linh & Glewwe, Paul, 2011. "Impacts of Rising Food Prices on Poverty and Welfare in Vietnam," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 36(1), pages 1-14, April.
    5. Christophe Muller, 2008. "The Measurement Of Poverty With Geographical And Intertemporal Price Dispersion: Evidence From Rwanda," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 54(1), pages 27-49, March.
    6. McKelvey, Christopher, 2011. "Price, unit value, and quality demanded," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 157-169, July.
    7. Muller, Christophe, 2002. "Prices and living standards: evidence for Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 187-203, June.
    8. John Gibson & Scott Rozelle, 2005. "Prices and Unit Values in Poverty Measurement and Tax Reform Analysis," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 19(1), pages 69-97.
    9. Peter Timmer, 2009. "Rice Price Formation in the Short Run and the Long Run: The Role of Market Structure in Explaining Volatility," Working Papers 172, Center for Global Development.
    10. Timothy K.M. Beatty, 2010. "Do the Poor Pay More for Food?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 92(3), pages 608-621.
    11. Kunreuther, Howard, 1973. "Why the Poor May Pay More for Food: Theoretical and Empirical Evidence," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(3), pages 368-383, July.
    12. David McKenzie & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2011. "Buying Less but Shopping More: The Use of Nonmarket Labor during a Crisis," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 1-43, January.
    13. Angus Deaton, 1991. "Price Elasticities from Survey Data: Extensions and Indonesian Results," International Economic Association Series, in: Marc Nerlove (ed.), Issues in Contemporary Economics, chapter 10, pages 253-283, Palgrave Macmillan.
    14. MacDonald, James M. & Nelson, Paul Jr., 1991. "Do the poor still pay more? Food price variations in large metropolitan areas," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 344-359, November.
    15. Mergenthaler, Marcus & Weinberger, Katinka & Qaim, Matin, 2009. "The food system transformation in developing countries: A disaggregate demand analysis for fruits and vegetables in Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 426-436, October.
    16. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4381 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Ronald U. Mendoza, 2011. "Why do the poor pay more? Exploring the poverty penalty concept," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(1), pages 1-28, January.
    18. Vijayendra Rao, 2000. "Price Heterogeneity And “Real” Inequality: A Case Study Of Prices And Poverty In Rural South India," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 46(2), pages 201-211, June.
    19. Thomas Reardon & Spencer Henson & Julio Berdegué, 2007. "'Proactive fast-tracking' diffusion of supermarkets in developing countries: implications for market institutions and trade," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(4), pages 399-431, July.
    20. Kaufman, Phillip R. & MacDonald, James M. & Lutz, Steve M. & Smallwood, David M., 1997. "Do the Poor Pay More for Food? Item Selection and Price Differences Affect Low-Income Household Food Costs," Agricultural Economic Reports 34065, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gibson, John & Kim, Bonggeun, 2013. "Quality, Quantity, and Nutritional Impacts of Rice Price Changes in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 329-340.
    2. Gaddis,Isis, 2016. "Prices for poverty analysis in Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7652, The World Bank.
    3. Bairagi, Subir & Mohanty, Samarendu & Baruah, Sampriti & Trinh Thi, Huong, 2020. "Changing food consumption patterns in rural and urban Vietnam: Implications for a future food supply system," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(3), July.
    4. UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa & Bruno Martorano & Giovanni Andrea Cornia, "undated". "Building an Integrated Inequality Dataset and the Seven Sins of Inequality Measurement in sub-Saharan Africa," UNDP Africa Policy Notes 2017-16, United Nations Development Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa.
    5. repec:rac:ecchap:2017-16 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Christian Elleby, 2014. "Poverty and Price Transmission," IFRO Working Paper 2015/01, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    7. Emilio Aguirre & Pablo Blanchard & Fernando Borraz & Joaquín Saldain, 2022. "Prices and competition: evidence from a social program," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 85-101, January.
    8. John Gibson & Bonggeun Kim, 2018. "Economies of scale, bulk discounts, and liquidity constraints: comparing unit value and transaction level evidence in a poor country," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 21-39, March.
    9. Mussa, Richard, 2014. "Food Price Heterogeneity and Income Inequality in Malawi: Is Inequality Underestimated?," MPRA Paper 56080, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Vigani,Mauro & Dudu,Hasan, 2021. "Demand Analysis of Multiple Goods and Services in Vietnam," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9803, The World Bank.
    11. Richard Mussa, 2015. "Do the Poor Pay More for Maize in Malawi?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 546-563, 05-27.
    12. Subir Bairagi & Samarendu Mohanty & Sampriti Baruah & Huong Trinh Thi, 2020. "Changing food consumption patterns in rural and urban Vietnam: Implications for a future food supply system," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(3), pages 750-775, July.
    13. Anania, Giovanni & Nisticò, Rosanna, 2014. "Price dispersion and seller heterogeneity in retail food markets," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 190-201.
    14. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Martorano, Bruno, 2017. "Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, determinants and consequences: Building an Integrated Inequality Dataset and the ‘Seven Sins’ of Inequality Measurement in Sub-Saharan Afric," UNDP Africa Reports 267776, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    15. Bondemark, Anders, 2020. "The relationship between accessibility and price – The case of Swedish food stores," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. John Gibson & Bonggeun Kim, 2018. "Economies of scale, bulk discounts, and liquidity constraints: comparing unit value and transaction level evidence in a poor country," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 21-39, March.
    2. Somekh, Babak, "undated". "The Effect Of Income Inequality On Price Dispersion," Working Papers WP2012/2, University of Haifa, Department of Economics.
    3. Christophe Muller, 2022. "Poverty Measurement under Income and Price Dispersions," Working Papers hal-03612841, HAL.
    4. Mussa, Richard, 2014. "Food Price Heterogeneity and Income Inequality in Malawi: Is Inequality Underestimated?," MPRA Paper 56080, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Christine M. Sauer & Thomas Reardon & Nicole M. Mason, 2023. "The poor do not pay more: Evidence from Tanzanian consumer food expenditures controlling for the food environment," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(5), pages 638-661, September.
    6. Richard Mussa, 2015. "Do the Poor Pay More for Maize in Malawi?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 546-563, 05-27.
    7. Gibson, John & Kim, Bonggeun, 2013. "Quality, Quantity, and Nutritional Impacts of Rice Price Changes in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 329-340.
    8. Nouréini Sayouti & Christophe Muller, 2021. "How does information on minimum and maximum food prices affect measured monetary poverty ? Evidence from Niger," CERDI Working papers hal-03117686, HAL.
    9. Bairagi, Subir & Mohanty, Samarendu & Baruah, Sampriti & Trinh Thi, Huong, 2020. "Changing food consumption patterns in rural and urban Vietnam: Implications for a future food supply system," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(3), July.
    10. Subir Bairagi & Samarendu Mohanty & Sampriti Baruah & Huong Trinh Thi, 2020. "Changing food consumption patterns in rural and urban Vietnam: Implications for a future food supply system," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(3), pages 750-775, July.
    11. Christophe Muller, 2022. "Poverty Measurement under Income and Price Dispersions," AMSE Working Papers 2204, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    12. Stewart, Hayden & Dong, Diansheng, 2011. "Variation in retail costs for fresh vegetables and salty snacks across communities in the United States," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 128-135, April.
    13. Christophe Muller & Nouréini Sayouti, 2021. "How does information on minimum and maximum food prices affect measured monetary poverty? Evidence from Niger," AMSE Working Papers 2102, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France, revised Oct 2021.
    14. Andalón, Mabel & Gibson, John, 2018. "The ‘soda tax’ is unlikely to make Mexicans lighter or healthier: New evidence on biases in elasticities of demand for soda," MPRA Paper 86370, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Mabel Andalon & John Gibson, 2017. "The 'Soda Tax' is Unlikely to Make Mexicans Lighter: New Evidence on Biases in Elasticities of Demand for Soda," Working Papers in Economics 17/07, University of Waikato.
    16. Christophe Muller, 2008. "The Measurement Of Poverty With Geographical And Intertemporal Price Dispersion: Evidence From Rwanda," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 54(1), pages 27-49, March.
    17. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4381 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Pourya Valizadeh & Travis A. Smith & Michele Ver Ploeg, 2021. "Do SNAP Households Pay Different Prices throughout the Benefit Month?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(3), pages 1051-1075, September.
    19. Christian Elleby, 2014. "Poverty and Price Transmission," IFRO Working Paper 2015/01, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    20. Beatty, Timothy K.M., 2016. "Food Price Variation over the SNAP Benefit Cycle," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236012, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    21. Ulrik Beck, 2015. "Keep it real: Measuring real inequality using survey data from developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-133, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food prices; Poverty; Unit values; Urban markets; Vietnam;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:41:y:2013:i:c:p:193-203. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.