Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research

Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research

Investigation of meat consumption preferences using non-parametric method of revealed preferences

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Farshad Mohammadian 1
Hossein Noroozi 2
Saber Kalhoori 3
1 Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, Sayyed Jamaleddin Asadabadi University, Asadabad, 6541861841, Iran
2 Ph.d student, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Development, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
3 PhD student, Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
10.22059/ijaedr.2021.332552.669095
Abstract
The first and most basic premise of presenting and developing economic theories in the field of consumer behavior is the rational behavior of the consumer and the accuracy of the studies and surveys conducted in the field of demand and consumption depends on the validity of the assumption of rational consumer behavior. In this study, we have tried to test the presence of structural breaks in the Iranian consumer preferences for meat portfolio. For this purpose, the non-parametric approach of testing the weak, strong and generalized axioms of revealed preferences, Afriat efficiency index, Kruskal-Wallis statistical test and De Peretti graphical method have been used to study the rational behavior and stability of consumers' preferences of meat portfolio in Iran. According to the obtained results, the behavior of the consumers of the meat portfolio in the period 1993-2017 was rational and can be interpreted by a concave, continuous, uniform and unsaturated utility function. Therefore, this data can be used to estimate the demand function in the mentioned time period or smaller sub-periods which the precondition of that is the existence of a neoclassical utility function.
Keywords
Consumer preferences
Axioms of revealed preferences
neoclassical utility function
  1. Afriat, S.N. (1967). the construction of utility function from expenditure data, International Economic Review, 8, pp 67-77.
  2. Burton, M. P., & Young, T. (1991). Nonparametric tests for changes in consumer preferences for meat in Great Britain. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 42 (2): 138–145.
  3. Chalfant, J. A., & Alston, J. M. (1988). Accounting for changes in tastes. Journal of Political Economy, 96 (2): 391–410.
  4. Conover, W. J. (1999). Practical Nonparametric Statistics, third ed. Wiley, pp. 288–297.
  5. De Peretti, P.   Defining money using revealed preference tests with measurement error.  Working paper, TEAM Université Paris1 Panthéon Sorbonne.
  6. Dehghan Dehnavi, M.A. Kohzad, N. Khalilian, P. (2005). Nonparametric test of revealed preferences for rational behavior of consumers (urban households). Iranian Economic Research Quarterly, Year 7, Issue 24, Fall 2005, pp.197- 217.
  7. Erfani, A., Davoodi, P., Sadeqi, F. (2017). Grouping of Monetary Assets in Iran Based on Nonparametric Approach to the Money Demand. Journal of Economic Research (Tahghighat- E- Eghtesadi), 52(4), 879- 904. http://doi:10.22059/jte.2017.63663 (in Persian).
  8. Famulari, M. (1995). A household-based nonparametric test of demand theory. Review of Economics and Statistics, 77 (2): 372–382.
  9. 2009. Available at: www.FAO.org
  10. Fevrier, P. Visser, M.    Measuring Consumer Behavior Using Experimental Data.  Available at www.crest.fr/pageperso/fevrier/fevrier _visser.pdf.
  11. Fleissig, A. R., Alastair, R. H. and Seater, J. J. (2000). GARP, Separability, and the Representative Agent.   Macroeconomic Dynamics , No. 4, PP. 324-342
  12. Frechette, D. L., & Jin, H. J. (2002). Distinguishing transitory nonlinear shocks from permanent structural change. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 13 (2): 231–248.
  13. Hildenbrand W. (1989). The weak axiom of revealed preference for market demand is strong. Economica, 57 (4): 979-985
  14. Hossinzad, J., Pakroh, P. (2016). Analysis of the structural changes in consumer preferences of red meat and chicken meat in Iran. Journal of Animal Science Researches, 26(1), 175-186. (in Persian).
  15. Houthakker, H. (1950) Revealed preferences and the utility function, Econometrica, 17, 159-174.
  16. Jin, H. J and Koo, W.W. (2003). The efects of the BSE outbreak in Japan on consumers preferences. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 30 (2), 173.192. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/30.2.173.
  17. Jin, H. J. (2006). Verifying timing and frequency of revealed preference violations and application to the BSE outbreak in Japan. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 54 (1): 139–157.
  18. Jin, H. J. (2008). Change in South Korean consumers’ preferences for meat. Food Policy, 33 (1): 74-84.
  19. Jin, H. J., & Kim, J. C. (2007). Effects of BSE outbreak in Washington State on agribusiness and food industry firms: an event study approach. Applied Economics, forthcoming.
  20. Jin, H. J., & Koo, W.W. (2003). The effects of the BSE outbreak in Japan on consumers’ preferences. European Review of Agricultural Economics 30 (2), 173–192.
  21. Kavoosi Kalashami, H., Kavoosi Kalashami, M., & Pakravan, M. R. (2015). Assessment of Structural Change in Iranian Municipal Consumers’ Preference for Edible Vegetable Oil. Agricultural Economics and Development, 22(88), 23–39. Retrieved from http://aead.sinaweb.net/article_58942.html. (In Farsi).
  22. Kohansal, M., Azam Rahmati, E. (2020). A Survey on Revealed Preferences of Iranian Citizens for Sugar and Lump Sugar. Agricultural Economics and Development, 28(110), 261-277. http://doi:10.30490/aead.2020.265689.1021 (in Persian).
  23. Koo, A.Y.C. (1963) an empirical test of revealed preference theory, Econometrica, 31, 646-64.
  24. Koo, A.Y.C. (1971) Revealed preference- A structural analysis, Econometrica, 31, 89-97.
  25. Molla Yousefi, M. Hossinzad, J. (2018). Investigate changing consumer preferences for sugar and sugar baskets. 11th Biennial Conference of Iranian Agricultural Economics. Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Development, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran. (In Persian).
  26. Rezvani, M., Bostan, Y., Atghaei, M. and Fattahi Ardakani, A. (2020). Study of change in bread consumers' preferences in urban areas of Iran using WARP and SARP approaches. Economic Modeling Research.11 (42). 187-214.
  27. Sakhi, F. Bostan, Y. Rezvani, M. & Fatahiardakani, A. (2019). Pasteurized and unpasteurized milk structural failure analysis of consumer preferences in urban and rural households Iran. Agricultural Economics and Development, (In print). (in Persian).
  28. Salami, H. A., & Kavoosi Kalashami, M. (2011). Evaluating structural change in Iranian consumers' preference for rice commodity basket, Agricultural Economics & Development, 1(25): 90-99.
  29. Salami, H., Pakravan, M., & Kavoosi Kalashami, M. (2012). An Investigation of the Structural Change in Urban Iranian Consumers’ Preferences for Tea Using Nonparametric Revealed Preference Test. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 43(3), 341–351. https://doi.org/10.22059/ijaedr.2012.30496. (In Farsi).
  30. Samuelson, P.A. (1938) A note on the pure theory of consumer behavior, Econometrica, 5, pp 61-71.
  31. Samuelson, P.A. (1948) consumption theory in terms of revealed preferences, Econometrica, 15, pp 243-253.
  32. Tavana, H. And M., Homayoonifar. (2008). Investigating the Rational Behavior of Vegetable Oil Consumers in Iran: A Case Study of Welfare Chain Stores. Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development (Agricultural Science and Technology), Volume 22, Number 2, pp. 59-70.
  33. Varian H. 2005.  Revealed Preference, In Michael Szenberg editor, Samuelson Economics and the 21st Century.
  34. Varian, H. 1990.  Goodness-of-Fit for Revealed Preference Tests.  University of Michigan.  CREST. Working Paper Number 13.
  35. Varian, H. R. (1982). The nonparametric approach to demand analysis. Econometrica, 50 (4): 945–973.
  36. Varian, H. R. (1983). Non-parametric analysis of optimizing behavior with measurement error. Journal of Econometrics, 30 (1): 445-458.
  37. Varian, H. R. (1985). Non-parametric analysis of optimizing behavior with measurement error. Journal of Econometrics, 30 (1): 445-458.
Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Volume 53, Issue 3
Winter 2022
Pages 755-771