Caloric Requirements and Food Consumption Patterns of the Poor

Shari Eli and Nicholas Li

No 21697, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: How much do calorie requirements vary across households and how do they affect food consumption patterns? Since caloric intake is a widely-used indicator of poverty and welfare, investigating changes in caloric requirements and food consumption patterns is important, especially for the poor. Combining anthropometric and time-use data for India, we construct a quantitative measure of individual and household caloric requirements. We then link our estimates of caloric requirements with consumption data to examine how caloric requirements coupled with household expenditures shape food demand. Our applications include the measurement of hunger and the role of caloric requirements in explaining food consumption puzzles related to household-scale and changes in caloric intake over time.

JEL-codes: I3 I31 I32 J1 O1 O53 R2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr
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