Household expenditure on food in Malaysia

• Published in: Journal of ISSAAS Vol. 13; no. 2
• Main Authors: Sheng, T.Y, Shamsudin, M.N, Mohamed, Z, Abdullah, A.M., Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor (Malaysia). Dept. of Agribusiness and Information System, Radam, A., Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor (Malaysia). Faculty of Economics and Management
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.12.2007
• Subjects: CONSOMMATION ALIMENTAIRE; CONSUMER EXPENDITURE; CONSUMO DE ALIMENTOS; DEPENSE DES CONSOMMATEURS; ENCUESTAS; ENQUETE; FOOD CONSUMPTION; GASTOS DE CONSUMO; HOGARES; HOUSEHOLDS; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_1823; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_3016; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_3676; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_3820; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_4533; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_7010; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_7377; http://www.fao.org/aos/agrovoc#c_7537; INCOME; MALAISIE; MALASIA; MALAYSIA; MENAGE; METHODE STATISTIQUE; METODOS ESTADISTICOS; RENTA; REVENU; SEX; SEXE; SEXO; STATISTICAL METHODS; SURVEYS
• ISSN: 0859-3132

'Engel's law' explains that share of household expenditure on food typically falls as income and expenditure increase. The objectives of this study are to investigate the food expenditure patterns of different income groups and the relationships between household characteristics and expenditure patterns. The study employed the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model on analyzing household expenditures survey 2004/2005 data. The estimated results are clearly a reflection of 'Engel's law', resulting in higher expenditure elasticity for lower income groups than higher income groups. The share of food will increase with income enhancement due mainly to economic growth in Malaysia. It was found that household size, races, age of household head, income and gender are the main variables related to household food expenditure pattern.