IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/soceco/v51y2014icp99-113.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Neighborhood effects on food consumption

Author

Listed:
  • Leonard, Tammy
  • McKillop, Caitlin
  • Carson, Jo Ann
  • Shuval, Kerem

Abstract

Food consumption behavior is likely a result of environmental stimuli, access, and personal preferences, making policy aimed at increasing the nutritional content of food consumption challenging. We examine the dual role of the social and physical neighborhood environment as they relate to the eating behaviors of residents of a low-income minority urban neighborhood. We find that both proximity to different types of food sources (a characteristic of the physical neighborhood environment) and dietary intake of neighbors (a characteristic of the neighborhood's social environment) are related to dietary intake. The relationships are most robust for fruits and vegetables consumption. Proximity to fast food sources is related to less fruits and vegetables consumption while the opposite is found for individuals residing closer to fresh food sources. Additionally, individuals whose neighbors report increased fruits and vegetables intake also report higher fruits and vegetables consumption, while controlling for proximity to food sources. Instrumental variable and quasi-experimental robustness checks suggest that correlation in neighbors’ fruits and vegetables consumption is likely due to social interactions among neighboring residents. The results elucidate important inter-relationships between access and social norms that influence dietary behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonard, Tammy & McKillop, Caitlin & Carson, Jo Ann & Shuval, Kerem, 2014. "Neighborhood effects on food consumption," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 99-113.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:51:y:2014:i:c:p:99-113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2014.04.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214804314000536
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socec.2014.04.002?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen Gibbons & Henry G. Overman, 2012. "Mostly Pointless Spatial Econometrics?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 172-191, May.
    2. Jayson L. Lusk & Keith H. Coble, 2005. "Risk Perceptions, Risk Preference, and Acceptance of Risky Food," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 87(2), pages 393-405.
    3. Habyarimana, James & Humphreys, Macartan & Posner, Daniel N. & Weinstein, Jeremy M., 2007. "Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 101(4), pages 709-725, November.
    4. Starr, Martha A., 2009. "The social economics of ethical consumption: Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 916-925, December.
    5. Luisa Corrado & Bernard Fingleton, 2012. "Where Is The Economics In Spatial Econometrics?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 210-239, May.
    6. Kallbekken, Steffen & Westskog, Hege & Mideksa, Torben K., 2010. "Appeals to social norms as policy instruments to address consumption externalities," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 447-454, August.
    7. Do, D. Phuong & Dubowitz, Tamara & Bird, Chloe E. & Lurie, Nicole & Escarce, Jose J. & Finch, Brian K., 2007. "Neighborhood context and ethnicity differences in body mass index: A multilevel analysis using the NHANES III survey (1988-1994)," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 179-203, July.
    8. Cohen-Cole, Ethan & Fletcher, Jason M., 2008. "Is obesity contagious? Social networks vs. environmental factors in the obesity epidemic," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1382-1387, September.
    9. Keane, Christopher R. & Lafky, Jonathan M. & Board, Oliver J., 2012. "Altruism, reciprocity and health: A social experiment in restaurant choice," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 143-150.
    10. Azar, Ofer H., 2004. "What sustains social norms and how they evolve?: The case of tipping," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 49-64, May.
    11. repec:mpr:mprres:3740 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    13. Anderson, Lisa R. & Mellor, Jennifer M., 2008. "Predicting health behaviors with an experimental measure of risk preference," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1260-1274, September.
    14. Lee, Lung-fei, 2007. "Identification and estimation of econometric models with group interactions, contextual factors and fixed effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 333-374, October.
    15. Wen, Ming & Maloney, Thomas N., 2014. "Neighborhood socioeconomic status and BMI differences by immigrant and legal status: Evidence from Utah," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 120-131.
    16. ver Ploeg, Michele & Breneman, Vince & Farrigan, Tracey & Hamrick, Karen & Hopkins, David & Kaufman, Phillip & Lin, Biing-Hwan & Nord, Mark & Smith, Travis A. & Williams, Ryan & Kinnison, Kelly & Olan, 2009. "Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences: Report to Congress," Administrative Publications 292130, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    17. Ngina Chiteji, 2010. "Time Preference, Noncognitive Skills and Well Being across the Life Course: Do Noncognitive Skills Encourage Healthy Behavior?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 200-204, May.
    18. Zenk, S.N. & Schulz, A.J. & Israel, B.A. & James, S.A. & Bao, S. & Wilson, M.L., 2005. "Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(4), pages 660-667.
    19. Yannis M. Ioannides, 2012. "From Neighborhoods to Nations: The Economics of Social Interactions," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 9892.
    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. Ana Balsa & Carlos Díaz, 2018. "Social interactions in health behaviors and conditions," Documentos de Trabajo/Working Papers 1802, Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales y Economia. Universidad de Montevideo..
    2. Namin, S. & Zhou, Y. & Neuner, J. & Beyer, K., 2021. "The role of residential history in cancer research: A scoping review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    3. Mariane de Almeida Alves & Maria Gabriela M. Pinho & Elizabeth Nappi Corrêa & Janaina das Neves & Francisco de Assis Guedes de Vasconcelos, 2019. "Parental Perceived Travel Time to and Reported Use of Food Retailers in Association with School Children’s Dietary Patterns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-12, March.
    4. Shi, Ruoding & You, Wen & Ji, Xinde & Ahn, Jae-Wan, 2020. "How Much Are We Valuing Healthy Food Environment: Evidence from Housing Markets," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304190, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Andi Syah Putra & Guangji Tong & Didit Okta Pribadi, 2020. "Spatial Analysis of Socio-Economic Driving Factors of Food Expenditure Variation between Provinces in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.

    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. Gibbons, Steve & Overman, Henry G. & Patacchini, Eleonora, 2015. "Spatial Methods," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 115-168, Elsevier.
    2. Stephen Gibbons & Henry G. Overman, 2012. "Mostly Pointless Spatial Econometrics?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 172-191, May.
    3. Susan Chen & Raymond J. G. M. Florax & Samantha Snyder & Christopher C. Miller, 2010. "Obesity and Access to Chain Grocers," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 86(4), pages 431-452, October.
    4. Buchmueller, Thomas C. & Johar, Meliyanni, 2015. "Obesity and health expenditures: Evidence from Australia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 42-58.
    5. Jes?s Mur, 2013. "Causality, Uncertainty and Identification: Three Issues on the Spatial Econometrics Agenda," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2013(1), pages 5-27.
    6. Li, Wenchao, 2023. "Gender of children and risky health behaviors: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    7. Sandy Fréret & Denis Maguain, 2017. "The effects of agglomeration on tax competition: evidence from a two-regime spatial panel model on French data," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 24(6), pages 1100-1140, December.
    8. Frank Davenport, 2017. "Estimating standard errors in spatial panel models with time varying spatial correlation," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96, pages 155-177, March.
    9. Emediegwu, Lotanna E. & Wossink, Ada & Hall, Alastair, 2022. "The impacts of climate change on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: A spatial panel data approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    10. Yu Na Lee & Laura Stortz & Mike von Massow & Christopher Kimmerer, 2023. "Impact of ‘‘high in” front‐of‐package nutrition labeling on food choices: Evidence from a grocery shopping experiment," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 71(3-4), pages 277-301, September.
    11. Demidova, Olga, 2021. "Methods of spatial econometrics and evaluation of government programs effectiveness," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 64, pages 107-134.
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/11535 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Martínez, Constanza & León, Carlos, 2016. "The cost of collateralized borrowing in the Colombian money market: Does connectedness matter?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 193-205.
    14. Setti Rais Ali & Paul Dourgnon & Lise Rochaix, 2018. "Social Capital or Education: What Matters Most to Cut Time to Diagnosis?," Working Papers halshs-01703170, HAL.
    15. Claudia Olivetti & Eleonora Patacchini & Yves Zenou, 2020. "Mothers, Peers, and Gender-Role Identity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 266-301.
    16. Chen, Xi & Qiu, Yun & Shi, Wei & Yu, Pei, 2022. "Key links in network interactions: Assessing route-specific travel restrictions in China during the Covid-19 pandemic," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    17. Schurer, Stefanie, 2014. "Bouncing Back from Health Shocks: Locus of Control, Labor Supply, and Mortality," IZA Discussion Papers 8203, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Olivier Bargain & Jinan Zeidan, 2019. "Heterogeneous effects of obesity on mental health: Evidence from Mexico," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 447-460, April.
    19. Guilherme Resende & Alexandre Carvalho & Patrícia Sakowski & Túlio Cravo, 2016. "Evaluating multiple spatial dimensions of economic growth in Brazil using spatial panel data models," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 56(1), pages 1-31, January.
    20. Zack Dorner & Daniel A. Brent & Anke Leroux, 2019. "Preferences for Intrinsically Risky Attributes," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 95(4), pages 494-514.
    21. Anton Pak & Brenda Gannon, 2023. "The effect of neighbourhood and spatial crime rates on mental wellbeing," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(1), pages 99-134, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Neighborhood effects; Nutrition; Spatial econometrics; Social influence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development

    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:soceco:v:51:y:2014:i:c:p:99-113. 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/inca/620175 .

    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.