Table 2.
Income elasticity estimates of key food categories by region, sex, and age
| Region | Sex, age | Fruit | Vegetables | Beans/legumes | Nuts/seeds | Whole grains | Unprocessed red meat | Processed meat | Fish | Milk | Sugar-sweetened beverages | Fruit juice |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Women, 20 | 0.19 (0.05)*** | 0.00 (0.05) | 0.03 (0.09) | −0.19 (0.20) | 0.15 (0.09) | 0.26 (0.06)*** | 0.38 (0.10)*** | 0.05 (0.06) | 0.38 (0.06)*** | 0.21 (0.05)*** | 1.01 (0.20)*** |
| Women, 80 | 0.27 (0.05)*** | 0.01 (0.05) | 0.01 (0.08) | −0.18 (0.18) | 0.06 (0.08) | 0.26 (0.06)*** | 0.10 (0.12) | 0.06 (0.05) | 0.38 (0.06)*** | 0.20 (0.06)*** | 0.94 (0.29)*** | |
| Men, 20 | 0.13 (0.06)** | 0.00 (0.05) | 0.03 (0.09) | −0.21 (0.22) | 0.17 (0.10)* | 0.26 (0.06)*** | 0.46 (0.10)*** | 0.05 (0.06) | 0.39 (0.07)*** | 0.19 (0.05)*** | 1.03 (0.23)*** | |
| Men, 80 | 0.24 (0.05)*** | 0.01 (0.05) | 0.01 (0.08) | −0.19 (0.19) | 0.07 (0.08) | 0.25 (0.06)*** | 0.26 (0.10)** | 0.07 (0.05) | 0.39 (0.06)*** | 0.20 (0.06)*** | 0.79 (0.34)** | |
| Latin America/ Caribbean | Women, 20 | 0.13 (0.03)*** | −0.02 (0.06) | −0.07 (0.09) | −0.65 (0.29)** | −0.02 (0.17) | 0.22 (0.04)*** | 0.05 (0.03)* | 0.00 (0.04) | 0.14 (0.03)*** | 0.01 (0.02) | 0.20 (0.03)*** |
| Women, 80 | 0.16 (0.03)*** | 0.00 (0.06) | −0.11 (0.09) | −0.58 (0.26)** | 0.00 (0.13) | 0.23 (0.04)*** | 0.01 (0.03) | 0.07 (0.04)** | 0.12 (0.03)*** | −0.02 (0.02) | 0.20 (0.04)*** | |
| Men, 20 | 0.10 (0.04)* | −0.04 (0.06) | −0.07 (0.09) | −0.68 (0.31)** | −0.02 (0.18) | 0.22 (0.04)*** | 0.06 (0.03)** | 0.01 (0.04) | 0.14 (0.03)*** | 0.01 (0.02) | 0.20 (0.04)*** | |
| Men, 80 | 0.16 (0.03)*** | −0.01 (0.06) | −0.11 (0.09) | −0.61 (0.27)** | 0.00 (0.13) | 0.23 (0.04)*** | 0.04 (0.03) | 0.07 (0.04)** | 0.12 (0.03)*** | −0.03 (0.02) | 0.18 (0.05)*** | |
| FCP | Women, 20 | 0.15 (0.05)*** | −0.03 (0.05) | −0.70 (0.62) | −0.91 (0.40)** | −0.20 (0.37) | 0.20 (0.04)*** | 0.04 (0.03) | −0.01 (0.08) | 0.14 (0.04)*** | 0.08 (0.08) | 0.45 (0.08)*** |
| Women, 80 | 0.26 (0.04)*** | −0.01 (0.05) | −0.93 (0.58) | −0.80 (0.35)** | −0.10 (0.28) | 0.21 (0.04)*** | 0.01 (0.03) | 0.11 (0.07)* | 0.11 (0.03)*** | −0.06 (0.09) | 0.48 (0.11)*** | |
| Men, 20 | 0.10 (0.05)* | −0.04 (0.05) | −0.69 (0.63) | −0.97 (0.42)** | −0.21 (0.38) | 0.20 (0.04)*** | 0.05 (0.02)** | 0.00 (0.08) | 0.14 (0.04)*** | 0.06 (0.07) | 0.47 (0.09)*** | |
| Men, 80 | 0.24 (0.05)*** | −0.02 (0.05) | −0.91 (0.59) | −0.85 (0.37)** | −0.11 (0.28) | 0.21 (0.04)*** | 0.04 (0.03) | 0.12 (0.06)* | 0.11 (0.03)*** | −0.08 (0.09) | 0.43 (0.12)*** | |
| Asia | Women, 20 | 0.10 (0.04)*** | −0.03 (0.04) | −0.38 (0.20)* | −0.16 (0.07)** | −0.11 (0.10) | 0.32 (0.09)*** | 0.04 (0.06) | 0.02 (0.03) | 0.10 (0.10) | −0.02 (0.10) | 0.49 (0.11)*** |
| Women, 80 | 0.17 (0.04)*** | −0.01 (0.04) | −0.48 (0.21)** | −0.14 (0.06)** | −0.08 (0.08) | 0.33 (0.09)*** | 0.00 (0.08) | 0.06 (0.03)* | 0.04 (0.09) | −0.19 (0.11)* | 0.51 (0.13)*** | |
| Men, 20 | 0.06 (0.04) | −0.04 (0.04) | −0.38 (0.21)* | −0.16 (0.07)** | −0.10 (0.10) | 0.32 (0.09)*** | 0.08 (0.07) | 0.02 (0.03) | 0.11 (0.10) | −0.03 (0.09) | 0.52 (0.12)*** | |
| Men, 80 | 0.16 (0.04)*** | −0.02 (0.04) | −0.48 (0.21)** | −0.15 (0.07)** | −0.08 (0.09) | 0.34 (0.09)*** | 0.05 (0.07) | 0.06 (0.03)* | 0.05 (0.10) | −0.22 (0.11)** | 0.47 (0.14)*** | |
| MENA/S. Asia | Women, 20 | 0.13 (0.05)*** | −0.03 (0.04) | −0.28 (0.15)* | −0.58 (0.28)** | −0.31 (0.25) | 0.21 (0.06)*** | 0.04 (0.14) | −0.01 (0.07) | 0.08 (0.06) | 0.00 (0.08) | 0.47 (0.11)*** |
| Women, 80 | 0.21 (0.05)*** | −0.01 (0.04) | −0.35 (0.16)** | −0.52 (0.25)** | −0.20 (0.20) | 0.22 (0.06)*** | −0.01 (0.17) | 0.11 (0.07) | 0.04 (0.06) | −0.11 (0.09) | 0.51 (0.13)*** | |
| Men, 20 | 0.08 (0.06) | −0.04 (0.04) | −0.29 (0.15)* | −0.61 (0.29)** | −0.32 (0.26) | 0.22 (0.06)*** | 0.11 (0.15) | 0.01 (0.07) | 0.09 (0.06) | −0.01 (0.07) | 0.48 (0.12)*** | |
| Men, 80 | 0.19 (0.05)*** | −0.02 (0.04) | −0.34 (0.16)** | −0.55 (0.26)** | −0.21 (0.21) | 0.23 (0.06)*** | 0.09 (0.15) | 0.12 (0.07)* | 0.04 (0.06) | −0.13 (0.10) | 0.48 (0.15)*** | |
| High Income/ Western | Women, 20 | 0.10 (0.06)* | −0.05 (0.07) | −0.79 (0.42)* | -1.83 (0.80)** | −0.25 (0.20) | 0.17 (0.07)** | −0.02 (0.04) | −0.02 (0.06) | 0.04 (0.05) | −0.09 (0.09) | 0.19 (0.05)*** |
| Women, 80 | 0.17 (0.04)*** | −0.02 (0.06) | −0.94 (0.47)** | -1.66 (0.72)** | −0.08 (0.15) | 0.17 (0.07)*** | −0.01 (0.04) | 0.06 (0.05) | −0.00 (0.05) | −0.26 (0.11)** | 0.21 (0.06)*** | |
| Men, 20 | 0.05 (0.07) | −0.07 (0.07) | −0.79 (0.42)* | -1.92 (0.85)** | −0.26 (0.20) | 0.17 (0.06)*** | −0.00 (0.04) | −0.01 (0.05) | 0.04 (0.05) | −0.09 (0.08) | 0.20 (0.06)*** | |
| Men, 80 | 0.15 (0.05)*** | −0.03 (0.07) | −0.93 (0.47)** | -1.73 (0.76)** | −0.08 (0.16) | 0.18 (0.07)*** | 0.00 (0.04) | 0.07 (0.05) | −0.00 (0.05) | −0.31 (0.12)** | 0.20 (0.07)*** |
Values represent the estimated percentage change in intake of each food in response to a 1% change in income. Asymptotic standard errors are in parentheses and derived using the delta method. Negative elasticities represent decreases in consumption with increasing income, suggesting products are considered inferior goods. For clarity, results are shown for ages 20 and 80; most findings for other age groups were intermediate to these values.
Significance: ***p<0.01; **p<0.05; *p<0.10. FCP, Former Centrally Planned economies of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia; MENA, Middle East and North Africa.