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Does Food Expenditure Decrease after Retirement, and for Whom?

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  • Ayal Kimhi

    (Department of Environmental Economics and Management, Institute of Environmental Sciences, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
    Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research, Kochav Yair 4486400, Israel)

  • Maya Sender

    (Elbit Systems, Haifa 3100401, Israel)

Abstract

This paper examines the decline in food expenditure after retirement by quantiles of the consumption distribution, by gender, and by pre-retirement employment status. The decline in food expenditure after retirement is smaller among those who were employees than among those who were self-employed, but only for females. Males who did not work did not experience a decline in food expenditure when they crossed the official retirement age, while females who did not work decreased their food expenditure in parts of the consumption distribution. These results are consistent with the two common explanations of the decline in consumption after retirement: inadequate savings and substitution of time for money. Public policy should target the inadequate savings phenomenon in order to make food consumption more sustainable during retirement.

Suggested Citation

  • Ayal Kimhi & Maya Sender, 2024. "Does Food Expenditure Decrease after Retirement, and for Whom?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:1992-:d:1347846
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    References listed on IDEAS

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