World Food Demand

Long-term projections of global food demand are heavily dependent on which functional form of the food demand equation is used. Given that real incomes can change substantially over the long-term, key elements are the dependence of the income elasticity on income, which ensures that the food budget share always lies within the [0, 1] range, and the role of income inequality. This article analyzes these issues, proposes a new functional form that deals with them, and presents estimates of income and price elasticities for food in 138 countries. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.