Consumption Profiles for Various Food Groups in Greece

Adult Equivalent Scales (AES) in household consumption analysis are profoundly more appropriate and more revealing than the "average per capita" consumption, which treats every household member on an equal basis. This paper provides estimates of AES parameters for five important food groups of the typical Greek diet (meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and legumes). Data from the 1993/94 Household Budget Survey were used and a Tobit limited dependent variable model was employed for estimation purposes. The results of the empirical analysis indicate that the age and gender composition of Greek households is a major determinant of food demand and consumption. In addition, the true household size varies substantially among the examined food groups and differs significantly from the "number of persons" measure of household size.