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The demand for Food in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Dunne

    (School of Economics, University of the West of England)

  • Beverly Edkins

    (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

Abstract

Food consumption is an important issue in South Africa, not only in its relation to poverty and deprivation, but also given the importance of nutrition in allowing HIV/AIDS sufferers to lead extended, productive lives. With the pressing need to increase food security and the enormity of the epidemic, understanding the demand for food has become a vital task. It is important that the determinants of the demand for food are understood, so that responses of household food consumption to changes in the prices of foodstuffs, prices of other commodities, and total expenditure can be anticipated. There is, however, surprisingly little economic research on this topic. This paper provides an empirical analysis of the demand for food in South Africa for the years 1970 to 2002. It uses two modelling approaches, a general dynamic log-linear demand equation and a dynamic version of the almost ideal demand system to provide estimates of the short- and long-run price and expenditure demand elasticities.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Dunne & Beverly Edkins, 2005. "The demand for Food in South Africa," Working Papers 0509, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, Bristol.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwe:wpaper:0509
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    File URL: http://carecon.org.uk/DPs/0509.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Steven F. Koch & Adel Bosch, 2009. "Inflation and the Household: Towards a Measurement of the Welfare Costs of Inflation," Working Papers 200917, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    2. Le Quang, Canh, 2008. "An Empirical Study for Food Consumption in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 80966, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2008.
    3. Omoseni Adepoju & Tobi Nwulu & Love David, 2022. "Evaluating the Role of Nigerian Bankruptcy Law in Enhancing Female Entrepreneurship in Nigeria," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-14, September.

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    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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