Giffen Behavior: Theory and Evidence

Robert T. Jensen and Nolan H. Miller

No 148, CID Working Papers from Center for International Development at Harvard University

Abstract: This paper provides the first real-world evidence of Giffen behavior, i.e., upward sloping demand. Subsidizing the prices of dietary staples for extremely poor households in two provinces of China, we find strong evidence of Giffen behavior for rice in Hunan, and weaker evidence for wheat in Gansu. The data provide new insight into the consumption behavior of the poor, who act as though maximizing utility subject to subsistence concerns, with both demand and calorie elasticities depending significantly, and non-linearly, on the severity of their poverty. Understanding this heterogeneity is important for the effective design of welfare programs for the poor.

Keywords: Giffen Goods; Theory of the Consumer; Consumption; Poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 I30 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-07
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cid:wpfacu:148

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