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Do the Poor Pay More for Food?

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  • Timothy K.M. Beatty

Abstract

Does food cost more for low-income households? This paper compares two well-known approaches to answering this question. I find that quantity discounts for a broad range of foods are statistically significant and economically important. However quantity discounting does not lead to the poor paying more for food. I find that the poor pay less than average for the food they purchase. This is explained by the poor spending a greater share of their income on foods where quantity discounting occurs. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:92:y:2010:i:3:p:608-621
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ajae/aaq020
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    Cited by:

    1. Brian Dillon & Joachim De Weerdt & Ted O’Donoghue, 2021. "Paying More for Less: Why Don’t Households in Tanzania Take Advantage of Bulk Discounts?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(1), pages 148-179.
    2. 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.
    3. France, Caillavet & Adélaide, Fadhuile & Véronique, Nichèle, 2014. "Taxing Animal Products: Protein Demand under Environmental Pressure and Social Impact in France," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 169974, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Mary Zaki & Jessica E. Todd, 2023. "Price Consciousness at the Peak of “Impatience”," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(3), pages 1003-1027.
    5. March, Raymond J. & Carpio, Carlos E. & Boonsaeng, Tullaya & Lyford, Conrad P., 2020. "Do SNAP Recipients Get the Best Prices?," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(1), pages 135-159, February.
    6. Chen Zhen & Yu Chen & Biing‐Hwan Lin & Shawn Karns & Lisa Mancino & Michele Ver Ploeg, 2024. "Do obese and nonobese consumers respond differently to price changes? Implications of preference heterogeneity for obesity‐oriented food taxes and subsidies," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(3), pages 1058-1088, May.
    7. Cleary, Rebecca & Bonanno, Alessandro & Chenarides, Lauren & Goetz, Stephan J., 2018. "Store profitability and public policies to improve food access in non-metro U.S. counties," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 158-170.
    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. 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.
    11. Sol García-Germán & Isabel Bardají & Alberto Garrido, 2016. "Evaluating price transmission between global agricultural markets and consumer food price indices in the European Union," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(1), pages 59-70, January.
    12. Ulrik Beck, 2015. "Keep it real: Measuring real inequality using survey data from developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series 133, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. Vincent Geloso & Peter Lindert, 2020. "Relative costs of living, for richer and poorer, 1688–1914," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(3), pages 417-442, September.
    16. Noble, Stephanie M. & Lee, Kang Bok & Zaretzki, Russell & Autry, Chad, 2017. "Coupon clipping by impoverished consumers: Linking demographics, basket size, and coupon redemption rates," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 553-571.
    17. 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).
    18. repec:lic:licosd:39617 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Maneka Jayasinghe & Christine Smith, 2021. "Poverty Implications of Household Headship and Food Consumption Economies of Scales: A Case Study from Sri Lanka," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 157-185, May.
    20. 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.
    21. Olabisi, Michael & Richardson, Robert B., 2022. "Why the poor pay higher energy prices: Evidence from Tanzania," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    22. Caillavet, F. & Darmon, N. & Fadhuile, A. & Nichele, V., 2015. "Who emits most? The environmental impact of food purchases of French households," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211382, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    23. Caillavet, France & Fadhuile, Adelaide & Nichèle, Véronique, 2014. "Taxing animal foods for sustainability: environmental, nutritional and social perspectives in France," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182863, European Association of Agricultural Economists.

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