DEMAND EQUATIONS FOR SELECTED SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES
ABSTRACT A set of demand equations for 18 South African agricultural products, representing three demand systems (red meats, fruits and vegetables), were estimated from monthly data for the period December 1982 to February 1988. Data were deflated with a commodity price index and natural logarithmic partial adjustment equations were estimated with two-stage least squares to determine demand parameters for each product. Theoretically expected results were obtained and, owing to variability in seasonal data, results were generally highly significant. Beef is confirmed as the dominant commodity in the red meat market, having cross-price flexibilities with mutton and pork of 0,30 and 0,20, respectively. All goods other than pumpkins are shown to be normal and fruits and vegetables (having many substitutes) are shown to be demand elastic. All products are normal goods, with the exception of pumpkins (income flexibility of −0,74), which are inferior. Apples and pineapples were found to be the dominant fruits an...
Determinants of consumer willingness to pay for organic food in South Africa
6 CHAPTER 1: Introduction 9 1.1 Background and motivation 9 1.2 Objectives to the study 14 1.3 Approach and methods 14 1.4 Organisation of the study 15 CHAPTER 2: The organic food and beverage industry: History, current status and future prospects 16 2.
A NOTE CONCERNING THE EFFECT OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION ON DEMAND
This note attempts to develop a method of measuring the impact of changes in income distribution on future demand, an important consideration when a country is experiencing a rapid rise in per capita income. Cross-sectional analysis utilising the Lorenz coefficient focuses on the impact of income inequality on the demand for mutton in urban Iran. It is hypothesised that long-term projections of demand using traditional methodology will over-estimate future consumption as a result of failure to consider deterioration in income distribution. The hypothesis is substantiated for this example. It is concluded that current income distribution and the alterations in income inequality which may accompany increased per capita income must be taken into account when estimating changes in aggregate future demand.