E-commerce improves dietary quality of rural households in China

Jiexi Shen, Zhanguo Zhu, Matin Qaim, Shenggen Fan and Xu Tian

No 335226, Discussion Papers from University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF)

Abstract: E-commerce is gaining importance in the food sector of many countries, and its potential influence on people’s access to food and dietary choices is yet to be thoroughly investigated. In this study, we analyze data from a food consumption survey conducted in rural China in 2021 to examine the impact of e-commerce on individual food consumption patterns and dietary quality. Our results with instrumental variable models show that e-commerce significantly reduces the consumption of staple foods, such as cereals and potatoes, while it increases the consumption of legumes, nuts, milk, and milk products, even after controlling for income and other confounding factors. Additionally, e-commerce contributes to higher dietary diversity and dietary quality among rural households. In the face of shrinking physical markets in rural areas, it seems that rural e-commerce can serve as an important mechanism to improve food access and meet the diversifying dietary demands of rural residents.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37
Date: 2023-06-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-cna
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:ubzefd:335226

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.335226

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