Welfare consequences of food prices increases: Evidence from rural Mexico

Orazio Attanasio, Vincenzo Di Maro, Valérie Lechene () and David Phillips

Journal of Development Economics, 2013, vol. 104, issue C, 136-151

Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of the welfare consequences of recent increases in food prices in Mexico using micro-level data. We estimate a QUAIDS model of demand for food, using data collected to evaluate the conditional cash transfer program Oportunidades. We show how the poor have been affected by the recent increases and changes in relative prices of foods. We also show how a conditional cash transfer program provides a means of alleviating the problem of increasing staple prices, and simulate the impact of such a policy on household welfare and consumer demand. We contrast this policy with alternative policy responses, such as price subsidies, which distort relative prices and are less well-targeted.

Keywords: Welfare; Food prices; Demand; Policy; Conditional cash transfer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (72)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:104:y:2013:i:c:p:136-151

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2013.03.009

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