The role of economies of scale and efficiency in food shopping and management routines in reducing household food waste: the Italian case

Massimiliano Agovino, Azzurra Annunziata and Angela Mariani

Applied Economics, 2025, vol. 57, issue 15, 1708-1722

Abstract: Household food waste (HFW) represents a challenge which needs to be halved in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Addressing food waste at households level is strategic to achieving these goals. Hence, to provide a deep understanding of this phenomenon we identify a monetary function of food waste per capita with an original theoretical model of household utility maximization, which introduces three sources of economies of scale and a measure of efficiency in food shopping and management routines. Subsequently, we estimate this function using two-stage least squares on primary data collected through an online survey conducted in Italy with a sample of 1,076 consumers responsible for household food shopping. The findings confirm that economies of scale and efficiency in food shopping and management routines reduce HFW. Insights are provided into the potential effectiveness of policy alternatives in reducing HFW and, consequently, making progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2024.2315096

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