How malleable is alcohol consumption? Specifically, how much is alcohol consumption driven by the current environment versus individual characteristics? To answer this question, we analyze changes in alcohol purchases when consumers move from one state to another in the United States. We find...

The rational addiction model is usually tested by estimating a linear second-order difference Euler equation, which may produce unreliable estimates. We show that a linear first-order difference equation is a better alternative. This empirical specification is appropriate under the reasonable...

The aim of this paper is to provide a reliable set of income, own-price, and cross-price elasticities of demand for the consumer goods, foods and alcohol beverages based on Almost Ideal Demand System model applied to the most relevant Czech data set of Household Budget Statistics. While we...

We estimate the effect of information and expertise on consumers’ willingness to pay for national brands in physically homogeneous product categories. In a detailed case study of headache remedies we find that more informed or expert consumers are less likely to pay extra to buy national...

This paper develops a conceptual framework that can explain why economic development goes along with increases in body weight and obesity rates. We first introduce the concept of novelty consumption, which refers to an increase in food availability due to trade or innovation. Then we study how...

This paper develops a conceptual framework that can explain why economic development goes along with increases in body weight and obesity rates. We first introduce the concept of novelty consumption, which refers to an increase in food availability due to trade or innovation. Then we study how...

We use Nielsen Homescan data to examine who bears the economic burden of cigarette taxes. We find cigarette taxes are less than fully passed through to consumer prices, suggesting consumers and producers split the excess burden of these taxes. Using information on consumer location, we show the...

Policy in many regions restricts geographic access to alcohol by reducing the number of outlets where alcohol is available for purchase. In previous studies, imprecise measures of access and the lack of a theoretical framework have caused improper economic interpretations of how reducing access...

We examine the demand for wines in Sweden using five years of weekly data on sales, advertising, and expert reviews. The effect of a favorable review peaks in the week after publication with an increase in demand of 6 percent, and the effect remains significant for more than 20 weeks. We find...

Se elaboró un modelo teórico con supuestos de preferencias endógenas al hogar, contextual y socialmente dependientes, a fin de analizar los principales factores determinantes de la probabilidad de que un hogar gastara en alimentos y bebidas fuera del hogar en México, durante 1992 y 2008. Las...