Title: Expenditure Patterns on Food Consumption in Jordan 1987-2002
Abstract: Food expenditures take a large share of the total expenditures of the household in Jordan, where the food expenditures constituted 39.7% of the total consumption expenditures in 2003. Food expenditures are affected by the variables of the available individual income, rural-urban demographic distribution, in addition to social and demographic characteristics of the population.
This study is based on the data of the Study of Household Income and Expenditures, conducted by the Department of Statistics in 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2002 in Jordan. The study included 25955 households. It included the expenditure patterns on both food and non-food goods .
This research aims to conduct an economic analysis for the food expenditures according to the above mentioned variables, in order to identify the change in the form of expenditures during the period of the study and to determine the correlation between income and food expenditures through identifying the income elasticity of expenditure on food . Descriptive analysis and quantitative analysis have been used.
The study revealed that food expenditures decline as income increases. Households of low income spent 42% of their income on food, while households of higher income spent only 19%. Urban consumers spent more on food than rural ones. The first group spent around JD 356, while the second group spent JD 297.
The income elasticity of food in urban areas is less than that in rural areas. It is in urban areas less than 1; it ranges from a minimum of 0.18 for cereals to a maximum of 0.9 for fruits. The growth rate of the individual income was less than that of the expenditures. The expenditures on cereals, meat and dairy products were the highest compared with other food categories. The expenditures on smoking showed a declining tendency as an indicator for health awareness. Rural consumers expend on cereals and legumes more than urban consumers. The increase in food expenditures led to the increasing in the food gap.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-08-05
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot