Effect of household characteristics on the decision to consume staple foods in South Africa

Abstract

Knowledge about the factors influencing household decision to consume staple foods under recent changing economic conditions is essential in evaluating the impact of South African government's trade and domestic policies and marketing firm's strategies. This study estimates a multinomial logistic model using 1993 integrated household survey data to examine the effect of household socio-economic and demographic characteristics on the decision to consume staple foods in South Africa. Results of the analysis indicate that socio-economic and demographic characteristics of households are important facto s influencing the decision to consume staple foods. Empirical results indicate that, holding all things constant, the change in the probability of consuming staple foods for a unit change in income and price is very low. The results demonstrate that developing marketing strategies and government policies that target specific market segments is an effective means of promoting the use of staple foods. Findings from this study suggest that the household decision to consume staple foods could decline given increased urbanisation and changing tastes and preferences in South Africa.