Household composition, income, and food-away-from-home expenditure in urban China

•Urban household expenditures on FAFH will grow in the next four decades.•Income and urbanization are primary contributors to future FAFH expenditures.•China’s aging society will have a negative influence on FAFH expenditure. China has experienced dramatic economic growth and socio-demographic chang...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food policy 2015-02, Vol.51, p.97-103
Main Authors: Liu, Haiyan, Wahl, Thomas I., Seale, James L., Bai, Junfei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Appropriations and expenditures
China
China (People's Republic)
Consumer spending
Consumption
Demographics
Economic development
Economic growth
Expenditures
Family income
Food policy
Food-away-from-home
Household composition
Households
Income
Old age
Social change
Socioeconomic factors
Surveys
Urbanization
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Summary:•Urban household expenditures on FAFH will grow in the next four decades.•Income and urbanization are primary contributors to future FAFH expenditures.•China’s aging society will have a negative influence on FAFH expenditure. China has experienced dramatic economic growth and socio-demographic changes in the last three decades including rapid urbanization and an aging society in the coming decades. This paper analyses food-away-from-home (FAFH) consumption in urban China with respect to household composition, income, and other socio-economic variables. The data are from household surveys in six Chinese cities (i.e. Beijing; Nanjing; Chengdu; Xi’an; Shenyang; and Xiamen) collected by the authors. Findings indicate that both household composition and income have significant effects on FAFH participation and expenditures. Projections based upon our results suggest that FAFH expenditures in urban China will continue to increase through 2050. The leading contributor to increased FAFH expenditure is China’s strong income growth, followed by the expected rapid urbanization. The aging society, however, will have a negative influence on FAFH consumption.
ISSN:0306-9192
1873-5657
DOI:10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.12.011