Gray, C.W.
(1982)
Food consumption parameters for Brazil and their application to food policy.
Other.
International Food Policy Research Institute , Washington, USA.
Abstract
The report combines specific analysis of Brazilian food and nutrition issues with a more general model for the study of the nutritional effects of a variety of governmental policies on both agricultural and nonagricultural sectors of the economy. First, the extent of malnutrition (calorie deficiency) in Brazil is discussed and patterns of food consumption in different regions and among different groups of people are described. An empirical analysis of food consumption and expenditure data and an examination of possible applications of the analysis to two specific issues of food policy follows. The first issue, the question of food subsidies, is concerned primarily with problems of food consumption. The second, the Brazilian alcohol programme, concerns patterns of food production. The report then: (1) estimates the responses of malnourished Brazilians to changes in income and relative prices; (2) examines differences in consumer responses between malnourished and well nourished groups and across income strata; (3) explores the trade off between quantity and quality in the additional purchases made possibly by changes in the real income of different groups. Finally, the study illustrates how the empirical results can be applied in policy analysis. Food subsidization and the Brazilian alcohol programme are chosen because of their potentially large influence on food supply and consumption and thus on nutritional status. To measure food intake response, calorie consumption functions are estimated for individual commodities and for total calorie intake, yielding a matrix of own-price, cross-price, and income elasticities for commodity-specific and aggregate calorie intake
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