At-Home Consumption of Fish Products in Malaysia: An Analysis of Household Expenditure Survey Data

• Published in: Marine resource economics 2015-03, Vol.30 (4), p.417-417
• Main Authors: Tan, Andrew K G, Yen, Steven T, Hasan, Abdul Rahman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Datasets; Economic analysis; Efficiency; Estimates; Ethnicity; Expenditures; Fish; Fishery products; Household utilities; Households; Investigations; Marine; Market penetration; Minority & ethnic groups; Population; Prices; Probability; Seafood; Shellfish; Sociodemographics; Underwater resources
• ISSN: 0738-1360; 2334-5985
• DOI: 10.1086/68221-1

Expenditures on fresh fish, shellfish, and processed fish for home consumption are investigated for households in Malaysia. A sample selection system is estimated to account for observed zero expenditures and improve statistical efficiency of estimates. Results of marginal effects, segmented by ethnicity, indicate that household size and age of household head are associated with expenditures for all three fish products across ethnic groups. Location, urbanicity, and education are associated with expenditures on certain types of fish products among ethnic Malays and Chinese only. Policy recommendations include targeting larger households with lower prices for bulk purchases and consuming households in older age groups. Efforts to promote regularity of fish product purchases should be directed toward urban Malay and Chinese households seeking convenient cooking methods, while measures to boost fresh fish consumption could be concentrated among higher-educated Malay households, given their unexpected lackluster consumption rates and expenditures.