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This is to certify that the
A thesis entitled
DETERMINANTS OF FOOD CONSUMPTION IN RURAL SIERRA LEONE:
ESTIMATION OF A HOUSEHOLD-FIRM MODEL WITH APPLICATION
OF THE QUADRATIC EXPENDITURE SYSTEM
presented by
John A. Strauss
has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for
Ph.D. degree”, Agricultural Economics
Economics
Cpl) K gchq
Major professor
Date July 8, 1981
0-7639
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DETE
LEON s
APPLI
DETERMINANTS OF FOOD CONSUMPTION IN RURAL SIERRA
LEONE: ESTIMATION OF A HOUSEHOLD-FIRM MODEL WITH
APPLICATION OF THE QUADRATIC EXPENDITURE SYSTEM
By
John A . Strauss
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Agricultural Economics
Department of Economics
1981
DETERII
LEONE:
APPLIC
This dis
Ofa househo
duction decis
aPI’Oduction
SUbstituted i
M excess SUI.
maXimizes, Its
mnSIrainI a
The flat:
Sierra Leone
Price effects
dAmend.
The hou
ABSTRACT
DETERMINANTS OF FOOD CONSUMPTION IN RURAL SIERRA
LEONE: ESTIMATION OF A HOUSEHOLD-FIRM MODEL WITH
APPLICATION OF THE QUADRATIC EXPENDITURE SYSTEM
By
John A. Strauss
This dissertation reports the derivation, specification and estimation
of a household-firm model. The model is block recursive. First pro-
duction decisions are made by maximizing short-run profits subject to
a production function. These output and variable input values are then
substituted into the budget constraint, which equates the sum of values
of excess supply of goods and of labor to zero. The household then
maximizes its utility subject to the budget constraint, and to a time
constraint equating total time available to leisure plus labor time.
The data used are household level cross-section data from rural
Sierra Leone. Price variation exists by region, permitting estimation of
price effects on consumption and on output supply and labor supply and
demand.
The household consumption-leisure choice component of the model
(with profits held fixed) is estimated using a Quadratic Expenditure
System with demographic variables. Seven commodities are used in the
system: five foods, nonfood and household labor supply. This involves
estimation of forty-two parameters by numerical maximum likelihood tech-
niques.
Attention is paid to whether random disturbances on the expenditure
system are distributed identically across households. They are found
not to be, and this is incorporated into the estimation procedure. Engel
curves are in
expenditure
expenditure.
with sizeable
expenditure.
A System
Six outputs a
tion function
Transformatid
”red; some I
is Used to star
different EQUI
need to evalu
(NSSib'Y pro
i
amanagreeable
Outpm el
under .5. TI
value, being I
The 'ESul
Changes in Co:
PrOIIts a re a”
l . I
n elaStlclty fl
t
we muSehOI'
John A. Strauss
curves are found to be significantly nonlinear; with marginal total
expenditure on rice, the major staple, declining with higher total
expenditure. Most foods are found to be reasonably price responsive
with sizeable own price substitution effects, declining with higher
expenditure. Aggregate labor supply is found to be price inelastic.
A system of output supply and labor demand functions is estimated.
Six outputs are used, the same as used on the demand side. The produc-
tion function used to derive these equations is a Constant Elasticity of
Transformation - Cobb-Douglas function. The output data are cen-
sored; some households do not produce all outputs. The Tobit model
is used to statistically account for this. Disturbances attached to
different equations are assumed to be independent. This avoids the
need to evaluate up to quintuple integrals, a very expensive procedure
(possibly prohibitively so), allowing us to evaluate only single integrals,
a manageable task.
Output elasticities with respect to own price are small, being
under .5. The wage elasticity of labor demand is larger in absolute
value, being less than minus one.
The results of the entire household-firm model are derived. The
changes in consumption resulting from changes in total income when
profits are allowed to vary in response to price changes are computed.
ln elasticity form these are important, being largest for lower expendi-
ture households. These elasticities are then used in computing total
elasticities of consumption with respect to price. The own price effects
remain negative, except for root crops and other cereals for low expendi-
ture households. The elasticities for low expenditure households are no
longer higher in absolute value than for high expenditure households.
Also, cross price elasticities are both positive and sizeable. Price
elasticities i
are all posit
elasticities.
Effects
are then corr
Elasticities c!
found to be
elasticities A
respect to r
SmuPs. Fo'
expendIIUre
John A. Strauss
elasticities of marketed surplus are computed. Own price elasticities
are all positive and sizeable, much higher than the output supply
elasticities.
Effects of total expenditure and of prices on calorie availability
are then computed using conversions from food composition tables.
Elasticities of calorie availability with respect to total expenditure are
found to be roughly .85, varying little by expenditure group. Price
elasticities of calorie availability are generally positive, except with
respect to rice and oils and fats prices for middle and high expenditure
groups. For rice price the elasticity is around -.25 for the higher two
expenditure groups, but .2 for the low expenditure group.
To Anna-Marie
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This dissertation was written under the auspices of the project
"Consumption Effects of Economic Policy," funded by the Agency for
International Development (contract number AlD/DSAN-C-OOOB). I
am indebted to Professors Victor Smith (the project director) and
Peter Schmidt for their patient assistance and their encouragement.
Without their willingness to respond to ideas and to give a great deal
of counsel this study would not have come to fruition. Thanks are
due to Professor Carl Eicher for his interest in me these past five years
and for his encouragement to work on this project. Professors Lindon
Robison and Norman Obst have also benefited me greatly through their
teaching and their general interest in my progress.
No study such as this can be conducted without an enormous amount
of computer work. I received an enormous amount of programming
assistance from Paul Wolberg and from George Sionakides. Also,
Susan Chu provided programming help. Chris Wolf made available
extra funds to use for computer work, as did Peter Schmidt.
An enormous amount of time went into data preparation. William
Whelan and Victor Smith made particularly invaluable contributions.
Will Whelan edited the data on market purchases among other work.
Dr. Smith located information allowing us to express food consumption
and production in terms of standard units of measurement. Both worked
on obtaining conversions of quantities of foods into nutrients, using
food compo
generous w
data.
I give t
parents hav
Jennifer, h
my humann
Finally, I t
than any OI
“Y formal e
food composition tables. Derek Byerlee and Dunstan Spencer were
generous with their time in answering questions concerning the raw
data.
I give the largest share of credit for this study to my family. My
parents have been a wonderful source of support. My daughter,
Jennifer, has given to me much happiness and helped me to rediscover
my humanness after having been a graduate student for so long.
Finally, I thank my loving wife, Anna-Marie. She has sacrificed more
than any other person these past seven years so that I might complete
my formal education. This dissertation is dedicated to her.
iv
Chapter
LIST OF TA
LIST OF H:
1. SCOPE (
2- DERlVA
Introdi
Deriva
SPeCifx‘
Incorp
into
SEpara
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
I.
20
3.
ll.
SCOPE OF RESEARCH
DERIVATION AND SPECIFICATION OF HOUSEHOLD—FIRM MODEL
lntroductlon
Derivation of the Household-Firm Model
Specifying the Demand Side-—The QES
Incorporating Demographic Variables
into the Demand System
Separability of Utility Function
and Perfect Price Aggregation
Specifying the Production Side
ESTIMATION OF MODEL
Specifying the Error Structure
Effect of Non-ldentically
Distributed Errors
Block Recursivity of Model
Estimating Multilevel Demand Systems
Estimation with Censored Data
DATA: PREPARATION AND
SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS
Sampling Procedure
Calculation of Quantity Data
Calculation of Prices
Calculation of Production Inputs
Ethnic Group
Commodity Definitions
Sample Characteristics
Caloric Availability
31
31
36
37
39
“2
45
N5
‘46
52
55
57
S7
60
68
CMEMr
L CHOOS
SlNiSL
Intro
as.
Speci
ResuH
5. QUADR.
Specitr
Esthni'
Expen'
Pricl
Chapter
5. CHOOSING DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES:
SINGLE EQUATION SHARE RECRESSIONS
Introduction
Rzand CD as Variable Selection Criteria
Specifications of Regressions
Results
6. QUADRATIC EXPENDITURE SYSTEM ESTIMATES
Specification
Estimation
Expenditure Shares and
Price Elasticities
7. TOBIT ESTIMATES OF OUTPUT SUPPLY
AND LABOR DEMAND EQUATIONS
Estimation with Censored Data
Variable Selection
Estimates of Small CET-CD
System in Value Form
Estimates of Larger CET-CD
System in Value Form
Effect of Censoring on Price Elasticities
of Output Quantities
Testing Tobit Results
for Heteroskedasticity
Estimates of CET-CD System
in Quantity Form
Output Elasticities with Respect to Prices
and Fixed Inputs-Quantity Form
8. HOUSEHOLD-FIRM MODEL RESULTS
Deriving Total Price Effects
Relation Between Sales Prices
and Purchase Prices
Profit Effects
Total Price Elasticities of Consumption
Effects of Fixed Inputs
Marketed Surplus Price Elasticities
Effects of Prices and Expenditure
on Calorie Availability
APPENDIX 8A
vi
Page
73
73
73
75
80
86
86
88
96
108
108
115
117
120
125
127
130
135
141
I‘ll
142
1118
150
153
155
159
173
Chapter
9. POLICI
lntroc
Trade
Sho
IUceS
onl
Expor
Orh
Derhr
Rebti
Pas
Futur
NBUOCR;
Chapter Page
9. POLICY AND RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS 179
Introduction 179
Trade—Off Between Secular Growth and 180
Short Run Nutritional Status
Rice Self-Sufficiency Impact 182
on Calorie Availability
Export Promotion and Relation Between Market 183
Orientation and Calorie Availability
Deriving Macro Predictions from Model Results 185
Relationship of Research to 185
Past Empirical Work
Future Research Possibilities 189
BIBLIOGRAPHY 192
vii
1.3
4.1
1.5
16
5.1
6.1
5.2
5.3
5.1
5.5
LIST OF TABLES
Table
11.1 Mean Values of Consumption Related Data
by Expenditure Group
11.2 Actual Average Total Expenditure Shares
By Expenditure Group
11.3 Mean Values of Production Related
Data by Expenditure Group
11.11 Mean Values of Production Related Data by
EA 13—Non-EA 13 Households
11.5 Quantities Produced, Consumed, and
Marketed by Expenditure Group
11.6 Calorie Availability and Its Components
by Food Group by Expenditure Group
5.1 Single Equation Share Regressions
6.1 Regression Coefficients and Standard Errors
for Regression of Squared Unweighted and Weighted
QES Residuals on Squared Fitted Values
6.2 Coefficients and Asymptotic Standard Errors
of Quadratic Expenditure Systems
6.3 Chi-Square Statistics from Wald Tests
6.11 Shares of Marginal Total Expenditure
by Expenditure Group
6.5 Shares of Marginal Total Income
by Expenditure Group
6.6 Uncompensated Quantity Elasticities with Respect to Price
by Expenditure Group
6.7 Income Compensated Quantity Elasticities with Respect
to Price by Expenditure Group
6.8 Change in Expenditure by Commodity Due to Marginal
Change in Age-Group Variables by Region (in Leones)
viii
Page
62
63
611
66
67
69
81-83
90
93
95
98
100
101
103
105
Tabh
7.1
L2
L3
L1
L5
7.6
17
18
19
L1
Coeffi
ong
Coeffi
ofCE
cnrs
Uflng
Systen
Own P
Labor
Systen
Resuh
on Pos
Coefiic
OICET
Chtsq
USIng |
Table Page
7.1 Coefficients and Asymptotic Standard Errors 119
of Aggregated CET—CD Systems
7. 2 Coefficients and Asymptotic Standard Errors 122
of CET-CD System in Value Form
7.3 Chi-Square Statistics From Wald Tests 123
Using Estimates From CET-CD
System in Value Form
7.11 Own Price Elasticities of Quantity Supply and 128
Labor Demand from CET-CD
System in Value Form
7.5 Results of Regression Testing for Homoskedastic Errors 131
on Positive Observations of CET-CD Systems
7.6 Coefficients and Asymptotic Standard Errors 132
of CET-CD System in Quantity Form
7.7 Chi—Square Statistics From Wald Tests 1311
Using Estimates From CET-CD System
in Quantity Form
7.8 Elasticities of Expected Quantities of Outputs Supplied and 136
Labor Demanded with Respect to Price From CET-CD
System in Quantity Form
7.9 Elasticities of Expected Quantities of Outputs 1110
Supplied and Labor Demand with Respect
to Fixed Inputs
8.1 Regression of Consumption Price on Sales Price 1115
and Tests of Constant Marketing Margin
8.2 Ratio of Consumption to Sales Prices _ 1117
8.3 Profit Effects in Elasticity Form by Expenditure Group 1119
8.11 Total Quantity Elasticities with Respect to Price by 151
Expenditure Group
8.5 Quantity Elasticities with Respect to 154
Fixed Inputs by Expenditure Group
8.6 Price Elasticities of Marketed Surplus by Expenditure Group 158
8.7 Change in Quantities of Foods Demanded Due to 161
lnfinitesimal Percentage Change in Price, With Profits
Constant by Expenditure Group
ix
Table
8.8 Chang
lnfinit
with P
3.9 Calori-
by Ex;
3.10 Elastic
Respec
by Ex’
5.” Elastic
Respe
by Ex -'
|
I12 EIaStic
RESpec'
by EXp|
“-1 Profit l
8“ Total Q
EXpend
Table
8.8 Change in Quantities of Foods Demanded Due to
8.9
8.10
8.11
8.12
8A.1 Profit Effects in Elasticity Form by Expenditure Group
8A.2 Total Quantity Elasticities with Respect to Price by
8A.3 Price Elasticities of Marketed Surplus by Expenditure Group
8AA Change in Quantities of Foods Demanded Due to
lnfinitesimal Percentage Change in Price, with
lnfinitesimal Percentage Change in Price,
with Profits Variable by Expenditure Group
Calorie Conversion Rates of Food Groups
by Expenditure Group
Elasticities of Calorie Availability with
Respect to Total Expenditure
by Expenditure Group
Elasticities of Calorie Availability with
Respect to Price, Profits Constant
by Expenditure Group
Elasticities of Calorie Availability with
Respect to Prices, Profits Variable
by Expenditure Group
Expenditure Group
Profits Variable by Expenditure Group
8A. 5 Elasticities of Calorie Availability with
Respect to Price, Profits Variable
by Expenditure Group
Page
162
165
167
170
171
1711
175
176
177
178
figure
2.1 House
L1 House!
13 Eflect
Housel
1' Compo
5.1 Definit
LI Efiect
Mean 0
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
2.1
Household Equilibrium: Two Goods
2.2 Household Equilibrium: Good and Labor
2.3
11.1
5.1
7.1
Effect of Price Change on
Household Equilibrium
Components of Commodities
Definitions of Household Characteristics
Effect of Price Change on
Mean of Censored Distribution
xi
Page
11
58
78
126
CHAPTER 1
SCOPE OF RESEARCH
Government policies affect the nutritional status of different popu-
lation groups, sometimes intentionally but far more often without fore-
thought. The nutritional well being of people, particularly persons
with low income, has become an important consideration for governments
of less developed countries. However, it is rare that policy planners
have much indication how different policies will affect food consumption
and thereby nutritional well being. This is especially so for people
who operate their own firms and who can adjust outputs and inputs
as well as labor supplied and consumption of goods and services in
response to price and other socio—economic variables.
This dissertation is concerned with exploring the socio-economic
determinants of food consumption of rural households in Sierra Leone,
households that produce foods (and other goods) as well as consume
them. Knowing these relationships it would be possible to trace the
impact of such determinants on availability of nutrients to the household,
especially of calories. This knowledge in turn may be of help in designing
policies to increase the availability of such nutrients, which will be a
crucial part of improving the nutritional status of individuals.
The importance of nutrition in the development process is well
documented by Berg (1973) , Reutlinger and Selowsky (1976), Dandekar
and Rath (1971) and others. Reutlinger and Selowsky demonstrate the
import
when
availal
in whi
ll'hile
grain
some ;
01
intake
1° Irai
2
importance of going beyond averages and looking at income distribution
when examining calorie availability. As one example: per capita grain
availability in Bangladesh was only one percent lower in 1974-75, a year
in which widespread starvation was reported, than in the previous year.
While emergency food aid flows show up in those figures, per capita
grain production was down only 4.7 percent (IFPRI, 1977). Clearly,
some people were much harder hit than others.
Of the economic variables, effects of prices and income on food
intake come first to mind. Since calories come from all food sources,
to trace the effects of prices and income on total caloric availability one
needs to trace their effect on the consumption of all foods. This calls
for a complete matrix of price and income elasticities, preferably different
matrices for different income groups of households. Pinstrup-Anderson,
de Londono and Hoover provide this for a set of urban households in
Colombia using a method proposed by Frisch (1959) which uses only income
elasticities, but at the expense of making extremely restrictive assumptions
about household behavior. Others have derived such a matrix by esti-
mating a complete system of demand equations. For rural households
who produce goods as well as consume them, one needs to account for
not only the direct effects of socio-economic variables on food consumption,
but their indirect effects as well. The latter occur if the household is
able to respond in its production patterns to changed socio-economic
variables. That is, the rural household is both a producing and a con—
suming unit. This knowledge leads to use of so-called household—firm
models in attempting to explain household food consumption behavior.
Anoth
data exhit
estimating
systems 01
used cross
his data h
to identify
Sistems al
UMgafi
dfimgraplr
Theo:
the house}
Etrenditu
Tra"510nm.
Nusehold
as is the e
“0“ of egg
Chant.
3
Another concern of this research is to show that cross sectional
data exhibiting geographic price variation can be successfully used in
estimating both complete systems of demand equations and complete
systems of output supply and input demand equations. Howe (19711)
used cross section data in estimating systems of demand equations, but
his data had no price variation so extraneous information had to be used
to identify certain parameters statistically. Moreover, we show that
systems allowing for a wide variety of behavior can be estimated when
using a fair amount of commodity detail and including variables on
demographic information .
The organization of the dissertation is as follows: Chapter 2 deveIOps
the household-firm model and makes it operational using a Quadratic
Expenditure System (QES) and a multiple output Constant Elasticity of
Transformation - Cobb-Douglas production function. How to incorporate
household characteristic variables into the demand system is explored
as is the effect of nonseparability of the utility function on the construc-
tion of aggregate prices.
Chapter 3 develops the general estimation procedures to be used
and explores some possible econometric problems. Chapter It describes
the data; both their preparation and sample characteristics. Chapter 5
reports results from estimating single equation demand regressions in share
form as a vehicle for exploring which household characteristics to use in
the demand system estimation. Chapter 6 reports the results of estimating
the Quadratic Expenditure System and Chapter 7 does the same for the
SYStem of output supplies and input demands. For the latter, special
econometric problems were encountered because many households specialized
their production activities, producing none of several outputs. How this
was handl
from the l
trace the
sumption.
tureon ca
mflhui
Ofthe res.
u
was handled is discussed in detail. Chapter 8 uses parameter estimates
from the demand and production sides of the household-firm model to
trace the total effects of price and other variables on household con—
sumption. It goes on to examine the effects of prices and total expendi-
ture on caloric availability. Chapter 9 explores some implications of the
model results for development in Sierra Leone and explores implications
of the research for future modeling of household-firms.
DERIV
In .
househi
indirec'
activiti
This Ie
mOdels
Semina
and La
(1974}
authh
ahme
subsis
leg”
Using
tartar,
hogse
Dart,
absu
a’gu.
CHAPTER 2
DERIVATION AND SPECIFICATION OF HOUSEHOLD-FIRM MODEL
Introduction
In order to trace all the impacts of socio—economic variables on
household food consumption it is necessary to account for those felt
indirectly through influence on the production and labor supply
activities of the household as well as directly on food consumption.
This leads to modeling the household using so-called household-firm
Economic models of household-firm behavior are not new.
models.
Seminal papers have been written by Nakajima (1969) and Jorgenson
and Lau (1969) . A further effort was provided by Lau and Yotopoulos
(19711) . All household firm models have a common structure of maximizing
a utility function subject to three constraints: a production function and
a time constraint and a budget constraint. Some models (e.g., Nakajima's
s'«lbsistence model) hypothesize that markets do not exist and others
(9.9., Jorgenson and Lau) explore intra-household distribution by
"Sing a social welfare function approach. These assumptions will be
tailow-ed to the problem at hand. For our purposes, we will assume
households are semi-subsistence households. That is, they consume
part of what they produce and sell the rest.
Derivation of the Household—Firm Model
Our unit of analysis is the household. We assume certainty and
abs'tf‘flct. from time. A household utility function is assumed with
a"guments being household consumption of various goods and of leisure.
Goods may
be bought
land and f
be distribL
hold leisur
constraint
Exogenous
PTOdUCI pr
mrkEIS arr
labor are a
I:Ormal
U:
SUbIeCI I0:
IIItere
6
Goods may be bought or sold in the market and produced. Labor may
be bought or Sold in the market. Goods are produced using labor,
land and fixed capital. Land is assumed fixed in total amount but must
be distributed between uses. A time constraint exists equating house-
hold leisure plus labor time to total time available. Finally, a budget
constraint exists equating the value of net product transactions plus
exogenous income plus the value of net labor transactions to zero.
Product prices and wage are taken exogenously by the household,
markets are assumed to be perfectly competitive and family and hired
labor are assumed perfect substitutes.
Formally, let the household maximize
u = U(E,x§, where i: a leisure
5 good i consumed, i=1, . . ., n
subject to: G(X.,LT,D,RT =
Xi =Xi-Si i=1, . . ., n
5L = LH-LT
E = T—LH
n
1:1 piSi+A+pLSL = 0
"here G(-)E implicit production function
Xi 5 production of good i=1, . . ., n
L.r '=' total labor demanded
D 5 land
R '5 fixed capital
Si 5 net sales of good i (purchase if negative), i=1, . . .
Assu
its argu”
IllnCIIOn
i”WIS. ar
even tho:
beCause l
5“ Up ti
(2.x
Thes
rginal
ma"Sir
7
SL 2 net sales of labor (purchase if negative)
A E exogenous income
T E total time available to household to allocate between
labor and leisure
r
111
H total household labor time worked
pi 3 price of good i, 121, . . ., n
FL 5 price of labor
Assume the utility function to be twice differentiable, increasing in
its arguments and strictly quasi-concave. Assume the implicit production
function to be twice differentiable,increasing in outputs, decreasing in
inputs, and strictly quasi-convex. We will also assume interior solutions
even though border solutions are easily handed algebraically (this is
because estimation incroporating border conditions is very messy). We
set up the Lagrangian function as
n
(2.1) w =U(E,xi‘1+x( z pilxi-xfnmthT-E—LTU.»urcrxi,LT,o,R))
i=1
Our first order conditions are:
aWIaxf=aUIaxf-xpi= 0 i=1. . . .. n
aWIatzaU/aE-xpLzo
(2.2) aWI axi= xpi+uaclaxi= 0 i=1, . . ., n
SWIG LT =-).pL+u8G/3LT = 0
n
am a A: 1:21 pitxi-Xf) +A+pL(T—L-LT) = 0
3W/ an: G(Xi,L D,K) = 0
To
These may be expressed in the more conventional way of equating
mar-g inal rates of substitution in consumption between goods to price ratios
to Ina rginal rates of transformation in production:
(2.
Graphic;
function
10l’lllaIIOI
point of
Itousehol
b1 the u
3-A of g
hlids.
Graphically, for outputs, the household produces on its transformation
function between two goods at the point at which the slope of the trans—
formation curve equals relative market prices. Consumption is at the
point of tangency between the same market possibilities line and the
household indifference curves. Net marketed surpluses are measured
by the usual trade triangles. In this case C-B of good j is sold and
B-A of good i purchased. Between outputs and labor the same situation
holds.
0 Good)
Figure 2.1
Household Equilibrium: Two Goods
In the £851
An an
The house
used in all
and leiSurl
for 9°0ds
decisions (
being hire
2'2- there
with r‘espe
puts, tOtal
equc‘itions
demanded
h terms 0‘
Goodl
_-
0 Labor
Figure 2. 2
Household Equilibrium: Good and Labor
In the case pictured C'-B' of good i is sold and A'-B' of labor is hired.
An extremely important prOperty of this model is that it is recursive.
The household's production decisions are first made and subsequently
Used in allocating available "total income" between consumption of goods
and leisure. This result is wholly dependent on the existence of markets
f0? goods and labor. lntuitively this allows the family to separate its
deCisions on goods demanded and household goods supplied, the difference
being hired (or sold out). This can be seen graphically in Figure 2.1 and
2° 2 . More formally, in the first order conditions, the partial derivatives
With respect to outputs yield n equations in n+2 unknowns (n good out-
Puts. total labor demanded and the ratio of two multipliers). Two more
eq'-‘ations are added by the partial derivative with respect to total labor
ck"“anded and with respect to the multiplier of the implicit production
funct ion. This system of n+2 equations in n+2 unknowns can be solved
in terms of all prices, the wage rate, fixed land and capital, the result of
the quasi-
conditions
be substil
partial de
nddsan
leisure an
the wage
are met.
Condi
e(illalions
“We prr
f“fiction,
zero home
untamed
Ihe Sluts]
The prof;
suWiles l
I’IPUts an
degree or
When
in FIQUre
tom Shin
pmdUClio
I5 Utility
901m E It
will mar
1a., h+ .
10
the quasi-convexity of the implicit production function, first order
conditions and the implicit function theorem. Such solutions may then
be substituted into the budget constraint. That constraint plus the
partial derivatives with respect to leisure and consumption of goods
yields an additional n+2 equations in n+2 unknowns (n good consumptions,
leisure and a multiplier), which may also be solved in terms of prices,
the wage rate and nonearned income, since second order conditions
are met.
Conditional on the production decisions this second set of n+2
equations is identical to the first order conditions of the labor-leisure
choice problem. This, along with our assumptions about the utility
function, implies that the usual constraints of economic theory apply:
zero homogeneity of demand with respect to prices, wage rate and
unearned income, and symmetry and negative semi-definiteness of
the Slutsky substitution matrix. Likewise on the production side.
The profit function (the profits equation after input demands and output
supplies have been solved for in terms of prices of outputs and variable
inputs and in terms of quantities of fixed inputs) is homogeneous of
degree one in all prices and convex in prices.
When we later look at comparative static changes, from pO-p0 to pI-p1
in Figure 2.3, we can separate this movement into three parts. The
total shift in consumption is from point A to point C. When we hold
production fixed at point B, however, the household will be maximizing
its utility by consuming at point E. The movement in consumption from
Point E to point C due to production moving from point B to point D we
will later call the "profit effect." Rewriting the budget constraint, we
c—
have M» 11 +pLT- Z piXi
pLE = 0, where 11:2 piXi-pLLT can be Interpreted
asshort rl
prkesthe
LTin the
hon point
can be brc
[with real
6.
11
as short run profits. When production changes in response to changing
prices the effect on consumption will be caused by changing the Xis and
L‘. in the budget constraint, that is, by changing profits. The movement
from point A to point E is the traditional labor-leisure choice model. It
can be broken up into the traditional income and substitution effects
(with real total income held constant).
p. p.
Good) ’0 \
' a
\\
D
A
E
C
Po
p
1 p.
O Goodi
Figure 2.3
Effect of Price Change on
Household Equilibrium
Spgcfling the Demand Side——The QES
When specifying the demand component of the household—firm
mdel, we use systems of demand equations. Systems of demand equations
relate an exhaustive set of expenditures to all prices and total expenditure
(0!" income). Two broad approaches are used in specifying functional
form, First, one can specify a particular functional form. This can be
done either for the direct or indirect utility function, in which case one
works f0l
in which
giving ri
imposed:
in prices
matrix.
(though '
These re:
as Within
tion Vers
lions may
01 indivic
househok
tion. Sir
turea po
”egaiive
Iated bet
i”corpora
AlIer
an unknc
of “Wm
I‘lnction.
reSearch
miiion an
to the Se‘
'09 Dr 9e
12
works forward to derive the demand function; or for the demand functions,
in which case one derives a class of direct or indirect utility functions
giving rise that function. In doing 50, three restrictions are generally
imposed: an adding up of expenditure criterion, zero degree homogeneity
in prices and expenditures, and symmetry of the Slutsky substitution
matrix. Negative semi-definiteness of the substitution matrix is not imposed
(though it could be) but is usually tested with the data upon estimation.
These restrictions on parameters Operate across demand equations as well
as within each. This leads to one important advantage of systems estima-
tion versus single equation estimation, that these cross equation restric—
tions may be incorporated into the estimation procedure. The adding up
of individual expenditures to total expenditures (or total income in the
household-firm model) results in the second advantage of systems estima—
tion. Since both actual and predicted expenditures add to total expendi—
ture a positive prediction error for one commodity must be offset by a
negative error for another commodity. Hence, statistical errors are corre-
lated between equations for a given household. Estimating a system can
Incorporate this fact leading to greater efficiency of the parameter estimates.
Alternatively to specifying a particular function, one can approximate
an unknown direct or indirect utility function at a point to any desired degree
of accuracy and derive the demand functions from the approximated utility
function. Which approach one uses will depend on what relationships the
research wants to highlight, number of observations available to use in esti-
mation and so forth. As a general rule, approximating functions, when taken
to the second degree of approximation as most have been thus far (e.g., trans-
109 or generalized Leontief) , involve independent parameters to be
estimated 1
commoditie
be estimate
Some speci
asa multip
at the pric
form. In.
Permits, t
One cl
Gorman (1
an indirec
P5Vector l
h°II°99ne<
utility ft".
giving 1‘15
the Klein-
(La)
13
estimated increasing as a multiple of the square of the number of
commodities in the system. To decrease the number of parameters to
be estimated additional constraints need to be placed on the system.
Some specific functional forms have the number of parameters increasing
as a multiple of the number of commodities included. This is achieved
at the price of restrictions on the type of behavior admitted by that
form. In general, the wider the range of behavior the functional form
permits, the greater the number of parameters are.
One class of widely used expenditure equations is linear in income.
Gorman (1961) has shown that this class of functions is generated by
an indirect utility function of the form V(p,y) = (y-f(p))lg(p) , where
p: vector of prices, yE expenditure and f(p) and g(p) are functions
homogeneous of degree one, Pollak (1971a) derived the class of additive
utility functions (of the form U(x) = U(U1 (X|)+U2(X2)+...+Un(Xn))
giving rise to eXpenditure equations linear in income, one of which is
the Klein-Rubin form U(X) = i? bi.ln(xi-ci) . This gives rise to the
1:1
linear expenditure system:
n
(2.11) pixi =piCi+bi(y- Z g(Ck) , i=1, . . ., n
k=1
n
X b. = 1
1:1 '
The bis are marginal budget shares. The Cis have traditionally been
kkak IS the
amount of expenditure available to be allocated after necessary consump-
interpreted as "necessary quantities’of good i so that y-Z
tion has been net (so called supernumary income). The trouble with
this interpretation is that there exists no logical reason for the Cis to
be positive; indeed when they are negative broader behavior is allowed
by the function .
For thl
behavior ll
our point r
total expe
1972), is t
in disaggr-
believe En.
inferior 901
be Hicks—A
are constra
stitution e1
live Ihen 0
Iilabsolute
A gene
One POSsit
11979} hav
Sistem Wit
ho"Ioilerleil
Mix is g
‘GIDIHH
01 degree '
SIStems Of
(2,5)
Iihiie exist
direct “till
with the Ql
III
For the purposes of this study the LES involves constraints on
behavior which are unacceptably stringent. The major problem from
our point of view with the LES, and with all other systems linear in
total eXpenditure such as the S-branch utility system (Brown and Heien,
1972), is that it restricts Engel curves to be linear. We are interested
in disaggregated food consumption for which there is more reason to
believe Engel curves will not be linear. Indeed, some foods may be
inferior goods. Less troublesome is the restriction that goods cannot
be Hicks—Allen complements. Also, ordinary cross price elasticities
are constrained to be negative, that is, income effects dominate sub-
stitution effects. Furthermore, if the Cis were constrained to be posi-
tive then own price elasticities would be constrained to be less than one
in absolute value.
A generalization of the LES would allow for nonlinear Engel curves.
One possibility is quadratic Engel curves. Howe, Pollak and Wales
(1979) have shown that any quadratic expenditure system (QES) con-
sistent with Engel aggregation (summing up of expenditures), zero
homogeneity in prices and expenditures and symmetry of the substitution
matrix is generated by an indirect utility function of the form V(p,y) =
-g(p)l(y-f(p))-a(p)/g(p), where g(-), a(-) and f(-) are all homogeneous
Of degree one. This function generates a class of quadratic expenditure
systems of the form
pi aa jig/23p. 2 peg/tapi
C- I _ __I____ - .31..
While existence of an indirect utility function implies existence of a
direct utility function, no closed form for the direct function associated
with the QES has been derived. Thus, to extend the class of QES to
the housei
This prese
solutions.
of the pi,
the indirec
h deriving
extension (
readily see
respect to
Optimum yr
This is nm
Differentia
3“ eXpemll
Hence, xi
A IOrm
“978) IS
on
the.
lit Cl
parame‘er
15
the household—firm model we must work with indirect utility functions.
This presents no problem so long as we continue to assume interior
solutions. As we have seen, one may solve for X? and I: as functions
of the pi, pL, and A+1i +pLT, where the latter sum replaces income in
the indirect utility function. Hence, to use the indirect utility function
in deriving demand curves in the household-firm model we need an
extension of Roy's identity. That Roy's identity extends itself is
readily seen. Let y=A+1r+pLT =22}:in +pLE. If we minimize y with
respect to prices and wage rate subject to U(Xfif) = U* we obtain our
optimum y*=y*(p,U*) . Assuming 8 y*/3 U*=lt0 we can solve for U*=U*(p,y*) .
This is nothing but the indirect utility function U*=V(p,y*(p,U*)) .
Differentiating with respect to pi: 0 =3Vl3pi+ 3%; 3y; . As y* is
i *
an expenditure function, by Shepard's lemma we have SL- = X? .
c -awapi —av/apL pi
Home, xi = W . SIITIIIaI'IY, L = 3V, y*
A formation of the indirect utility function used by Pollak and Wales
(1978) is a
iip" n ”‘16de
(2.6) V(p,y) =——c—- + x p .za =2
Y :pk k k k k k k
ak (Zak-dk)
This uses g(p): Ilpk , f(p) = Zkak and a(p) = - lipk , where
k k k
ks, Cks and dks and A are parameters to be estimated. There is
no necessary reason for A to appear. Dropping it in order to save a
k
dk=1
the a
Parameter we can extend 2.6 to the household—firm model in a natural way,
n+1 ak n+1 n+1 (ak-dk)
(2.7) V=-II p /(A+p T+1r-— X p C )+ 11 p
k=1 k L k=1 k " k=1 k
n+1 n+1
Z a = Z d = 1, where leisure is treated as the n+1 good.
k=1 k k:] k
The result
(2.8)
This has a:
Its not
foregoing ‘
Had we chi
llales, 197.
Vll), :.
Y) (
“3)
It might b!
spi‘Cificaii
Would be 1
idk: I. i
plicativec
o... m
of lhe QE‘
16
The resulting expenditure equation is
c n+1 n+1 -dk
(2.8) piXi = piCi+ai(pLT+n +A- 2- kak) - (ai-di) T_I pk
k—1 k—I
n+1 2
(pLT+ir +A— '23:] kak) 121, . . ., n+1
This has as a special case the linear expenditure system provided ai=di, Vi.
As noted, the QES is a class of expenditure functions. In the
2a -C
foregoing example the function a(p) was the multiplicative one —Il pk k k.
k
Had we chosen an additive function a(p) = X pkdk (Howe, Pollak, and
k
Wales, 1979) ogr indirect utility function would be
k
4ka Zpkdk
k k d our expenditure system
V(p,y) = _ - -—— an
(AHi +pLT Zkak) ak
k Ilpk
k
(2 9) Xc= C +a (A+11 T- 2 C )+( d-a 2 d )TI -23"
' piipiii erl. kpkk piiipkkkpk
(A+ 'n +pLT-Z kak) 2
R
It might be interesting, but costly in parameters, to find a more general
specification of which these two are special cases. One possibility
would be to let a(P) be 3 CES type specification a(P) = (dep£)1lp
de = 1, which becomes an additive specification for p=1';nd a multi-
|[glicative one for p=0.
Our main research interest is not to compare alternative specifications
0f the QES. We choose to use the specification of equations 2.7 and 2.8.
Since
lie must d
size and a
heavily up
are possit
give rise
need to bl
estimated
number 01
the Size,
ESSUme 1h
common u.
One :1
expenditt
“Id Implii
"Indium
different
loci. So
often this
and Sex.
the Wily I
household
hmwa
expenditu
sitthe C0r
17
lncorporatingDemographic Variables
into the Demand System
Since our unit of analysis is the household rather than the individual,
we must decide how to incorporate household characteristics such as
size and age distribution into our analysis. The discussion draws
heavily upon Pollak and Wales (1978b, 1980) . Two very general approaches
are possible. We could assume that different household characteristics
give rise to different utility functions. In this case the sample would
need to be grouped by the appropriate characteristics and the system
estimated separately for each group. This would drastically reduce the
number of parameters one could estimate, necessitating a reduction in
the size, and hence the interest, of the system. Alternatively, one can
assume that different characteristics can be accounted for within a
common utility function. This is the approach taken here.
One might ask why not simply replace expenditures and total
expenditure by their per capita equivalents. Indeed, this is possible
and implies that per capita consumption is what enters into the utility
function. In the past this has been criticized for not allowing for
different consumption requirements for different members of the house-
hold. Such reasoning has led to construction of consumer equivalents.
Often this exercise is based on recommended caloric intake by age group
and sex. Clearly, however, caloric "requirements" do not constitute
the only relevant measure by which to weight different members of the
household. Prais and Houthakker (1955) argue that each member ought
to have a different weight for each consumption good. They hypothesize
expenditure equations of the form piX§lsi=fi(p,y/so) i=1, . . ., n where
SiEthe consumer equivalent for good i and so: the "income scale." They
mdel si a
they assu
latter assu
identity.
using the
a function
characteri
Pollak and
theoretica
reSpecific:
that PI’Efe
that is no
W to est;
si’Stem COI
theoretica
this Who
the Under!
Primarily
this Way 0
not be DUI
The ic
il'nplementi
theme“Cal
QSSumptior
amidst b)
“95‘”. hi
saratioi:
18
model si as a linear combination of household characteristics and so
they assume to be independent of expenditures. The trouble with the
latter assumption is that the demand system may not satisfy the budget
identity. Muellbauer (1980) corrects for this by defining so implicitly
using the budget equation (i.e.,£ sifi(p,ylso)=y) in which case so is
a function of prices and total expenditure as well as of demographic
characteristics. There is disagreement between Muellbauer (1980) and
Pollak and Wales (1978b) over the question of the characteristics of any
theoretically plausible demand system giving rise to the Muellbauer
respecification of the Prais—Houthakker procedure. Muellbauer argues
that preferences must correspond to a fixed coefficients utility function,
that is no substitutability between goods consumption. Pollak and Wales
try to establish that applying the Muellbauer modification to a demand
system corresponding to an additive utility function results in a
theoretically plausible system. They further try to show that applying
this method to a system linear in expenditure will be plausible only if
the underlying utility function is additive. Since we are interested
primarily In systems which are neither linear in expenditure nor additive
this way of incorporating demographic variables into our analysis will
not be pursued further.
The idea of equivalence scales which vary by commodity can be
implemented in other ways, which are generally applicable to all
theoretically plausible demand systems. Moreover, using arbitrary
assumptions in order to form such scales prior to estimation can be
avoided by estimating them. One example, scaling, due to Barten
(19611), hypothesizes arguments in the utility function to be consumption
as a ratio boommodity equivalence scales, which are dependent only on
demograi
resulting
mnmu:
the short
pilifitpfl
the usual
of the su
function,
sufficient
Unde
effect of
Price the
(2.10
“here n
‘he crosS
n0” Blast
funcnon ,
mssibiliti
Mi : I+|
and gis a
parame‘el
ClearIy it
'till be lir.
iii ‘ K
‘ x
l .
I':'
1‘ K
i‘i+~
4.
k1
19
demographic variables: U(X) = U(xfillv xg/Iz,...,x:/tn). The
resulting indirect utility function is of the form V(p,y) = V(p1l1,...,pnln,y).
Maximizing with respect to the X? 5, assuming the lis to be fixed in
the short run, yields an expenditure system of the form piX?=
pil‘fi(p1I1,...,pnln,y) . Such a system retains consistency with all
the usual theoretical constraints except for negative semi—definiteness
of the substitution matrix. Under continuity assumptions on the utility
function, however, the modified system will meet this criterion for .i
sufficiently close to one.
Under the scaling method of entering demographic variables the
effect of changes in demographic variables Operates analogously to
price changes. We can write lnxfz ll nli+l nfi(pili,y) so that
ame 31m. n i aim.
(2.10) —' = 'a'l—L + z .BWT J
alnnt nnt i=1 olnpj l alnnt
i i
= . . alnf _ alnf :
where nt -the t th demographic variable and W — alnp.
l l
the cross elasticity of good i with respect to price i. Hence, the consump-
tion elasticities with respect to demographic characteristics are an affine
function of the price elasticities. It remains to specify the Ii. Two
possibilities are polynomial and log linear. The polynomial specification
K 0.
is Ii = 1+( 2 Oirnr) ', where the K nrs are defined as above and the Oirs
r=1
and Ois are unknown parameters. There will be at most n(k+l) of these
parameters which are in addition to other parameters in the model.
Clearly then, the number, k, of demographic variables to be included
will be limited by model size considerations. The log-linear specification
K o.
'5 I = 11 n er. A special case of the polynomial is the linear
Anot
analysis
The dire
and the .
the LES,
However,
The EXpe
negative
vi suffici
COme thn
Ptillak an
latter the
cOnsidera
lfould 0m
Othei
has Pl‘Opr
Wuld als
which Pot
better, a]
SlalistiCa,
scaling Sp
Inusellolc
20
Another method of entering demographic variables into demand
analysis due to Pollak and Wales (1978b, 1980) is called translating.
The direct utility function is of the form U(X) = U(x 1-v], . . .,x —v )
n n
n
and the indirect utility function is V(p,y) = V(p,y- Z pivi)’ As for
i=1
the LES, the vis may be interpreted as committed quantities of goods.
However, there is no reason why these parameters should be positive.
The expenditure system may be written pig: pivi+f'(p,y-Xpivi) . Again,
negative semi-definiteness of the substitution matrix may hold only for
vi sufficiently close to zero. The effects of demographic variables, nt,
apin 3vi afi n 8v.
come through income in this modification. —— = . — - —— 2 p. —J-.
an t I ant 3y i=1 ] ant
Pollak and Wales dub the first expression the "specific" effect and the
latter the "general" effect. The specification of the vi has the same
considerations as for the l i in the scaling case. The linear specification
would omit the one, however; vi = r51 Oirnr’
Other ways to enter demographic variables exist. Gorman (1976)
has proposed to sequentially scale and then translate. The reverse
would also be possible as Pollak and Wales note. The little experimenting
which Pollak and Wales have done indicates that scaling may be slightly
better, although most of their comparisons are not nested and non -nested
statistical tests of the differences are not performed. Using the linear
scaling specification and the QES,‘ the demand side of the
household-firm model would look like:
[2.11]
The first 1
(2.12)
Likewise,
Specifying
However,
Will be ide
and from t
We Car
"me avaua
w"ling T .
(2,13)
NOW 3“ the
hr the ex;
21
K K
(2.11) pin= p. (1+ r:10. rn ri)C +a. (A+1r +pLT- ipkU-t- r2 0k rW
-dk
-(ai-dilfilpk(1+fokrnr)] k(A+" +pLT- Epklh 20', n )Ck)2
’pLLH = “in—(“EC Lrnr) CL) ““L‘A+ 7‘ +pLT-ipk(1+fo krnr) ck)
-d
-a(L- dLlfllpkll+Zok rrnil k
2
(AH! +pLT-Z pk(1+XG krnr) Ck)
k k r
The first term of the second equation we can rewrite as
(2.12) -pL(T-CL)+2;0 LrCL nrpL
Likewise, we can collect T-C in the other expressions so as to avoid
L
specifying T. Viewing only the above expression, only OLrCL is identified.
-d
. L
However, the OLrs appear in the form [pL(HEOLrnr)] , hence the OLrs
will be identified from that expression. Hence, CL is over-identified
and from the estimate T-CL so is T.
We can improve the realism of the model by noting that T, the "total"
time available for household allocation will itself be a function of demo-
graphic variables. Moreover, this will not affect the budget identity.
Writing T = Zyrmr we have for the first expression
r
(2'13) "1‘? Yrmr'ct.) ”Ii" LrCLnrpL
Now all the parameters are identified.
Alternatively, we can use translation. Modeling T as above we have
for the expenditure system
(2.l
Since leis
leisure ex
The left i
which we
{2.15
22
K q n+1 K
c
(2.14) p.X.=p.C.+p. >3 o.n +a.(p Z ym +n+A- X p (C +2 0 n ))
II II Ir:.llrl'lLr:1l‘l" k=1k kr=1krr
n+1 -dk q n+1 K 2
-(a.-d.) II p (p X y m +n+A- )3 p (C + £0 n ))
I I k=1 k L r=1 r r k=1 k k r=1 kr r
Since leisure is not directly observed we subtract from both sides of the
leisure expenditure equation the value of time available to the household.
The left hand side becomes the negative of the value of household labor,
which we do observe.
K q q
(2'15) -pLLH = pLCLJ'pL rit OirnFPL riiyrmrfliml- rE1Yrmr+n+A
n+1 K n+1 -dk
2 p (C + o n )) - (a.-d.) II p
k=1 k k r=1 kr r I I k=1 k
q n+1 K 2
(p Zym+n+A- Z p(C+Z 0 n))
L r=1 r r k=1 k k r=1 kr r
This device avoids the need to impose values for T, such as a male having
exactly sixteen hours per day available for work and leisure. With n+1
Com'modities, K translation demographic variables and q‘ demographic
Variables for total time this system has at most (3+K) (n+1)-2+q parameters
to estimate (fewer if some of the nrs and mrs are identical).
In the foregoing, we have made only the Ck parameters functions of
demographic variables. In principle, the ak and dk parameters also
might be functions of parameters. We might write ai=ai0+25irnr subject
r
to X ai=1. This latter constraint would imply that Xaio=1 and that £53.50,
i i
Vr- This might be one way to incorporate the hypothesis that different
souI‘ces of income resulted in different expenditure patterns, a hypothesis
that our formulation of the model does not permit exploration of.
Both
do not en
demograp
is done ft
Yotopoulc
Comp
is not Our
lie ultima'
SPetiticat
Cltapter 6
One i
1° be incl
this size I
tommodit,
SYSlem Us
nat”rally
aggrefiiate
Three was
Prices Wll
co"""Oditi.
23
Both translation and scaling assume that household characteristics
It is possible to enter
This
do not enter separately into the utility function.
demographic variables as separate arguments in the utility function.
is done for a linear logarithmic expenditure system by Lau, Lin and
Yotopoulos (1978).
Comparison of alternative methods of entering demographic variables
is not our purpose any more than comparing different forms for the QES.
We ultimately use the translation specification, although use of the scaling
specification was attempted and discarded for reasons outlined in
Chapter 6.
Separability of Utility Function
and Perfect Price Aggregafion
One important issue of specification is the number of commodities
to be included, hence the level of aggregation one uses. In a model of
this size the number of commodities used will have to be limited, hence
commodity groups will need to be formed. Since we are deriving our
Sy stem using constraints implied by economic theory, the question
naturally arises whether one can group commodities, in particular form
aggregate price indices for the groups, and remain consistent with theory.
Three ways exist to handle this question. One is to assume relative
PriCes within each commodity group to be constant and form composite
mmmOdities as suggested by Hicks. The second approach is to use
p"“’l>erties of separability on the utility function and derive the appro-
priate price indices accordingly. The third method is to ignore the
quest ion and form price indices in an ad hoc manner. Using the second
methOd, Blackorby, Primont and Russell (1978) define strong price
a9gregation as the existence of linear homogeneous functions 1r'(p') such
that yr
yztotal .
equation
define tl
uainiX
x
. .,h”
5eParabl
Utultx1
Shown u
agr0up
The latte
et at. sh
24
that yr = 0r(n1(p1),. . .,nn(pn),y), where pi; vector of prices in group i,
yE total expenditures, yrs expenditure on group r and or is an expenditure
equation homogeneous of degree one in prices and expenditure. They
define the conditional indirect utility function as H(y1,y2,. . .,yn,p)=
naxtuixilzp'x'sy) and note it can be written as ch‘iy‘,p‘),h2(y2,p2),
x r
. . .,hn(yn,pn)) if and only if the direct utility function is weakly
separable in the n commodity groups (that is, it can be written U(X) =
uiu'tx'),u2(x2),. . .,untx”)). In this case Pollak (1971b) has
shown that one can derive a conditional demand system; expenditures within
a group as a function of prices within the group and of group expenditure.
The latter is a function of all prices and of total expenditure. Blackorby,
et al. show that a sufficient condition for strong price aggregation is
for H to have the form
drrr d+1d+1d+1 nnn r
HTX)=U*(£ le.P)+Ulh (Y .P l.....h (Y .P))).whereh
is homogeneousrozf1 degree minus one in pr for r=d+1, ,n and hr is of
the generalized Gorman polar form, hr zip r(yr/irr(pr))+l\r(pr) , Ar(p)
being homgeneous of degree zero. It turns out that the generalized
Corman polar form yields expenditure equations linear in income. Hence,
the class of QE systems does not meet this requirement. Indeed, the
indirect utility functions as operationalized by Howe, et al. are not
even separable (though this need not imply the same for the corresponding
direct utility functions).
While Howe, et al. speculate the existence of a QES which is
Sepa rable, we have been unable to derive such. The closest we have
Come Is to derive systems quadratic in expenditure within groups but
"hear in total expenditure for group expenditures. One class of
Util ity functions meeting Blackorby, et al.'s criterion for price aggregation
is the S-b
function i:
it is also I
The L
does give
unknown l
fora mm
[2.16)
25
is the S-branch utility tree (Brown and Heien, 1972) . Although this
function is a generalization of the LES in that it allows for complementarities,
it is also linear in expenditure, hence will not be pursued.
The LES is derived from an additive direct utility function and
does give rise to price aggregates (Stone, 1970) but which depend on
unknown parameters. To see this, add the LES expenditure equations
for a commodity group:
(2.16) s: piXic=X pici+i3 ai(y—;pici)
ielr ii:lr 1dr I
(piCi) n (piCi)
= (:23, ”FT” Cf? as” ’ E ’? Fri—"l3 Ci)
12:» . T 1d Id r—l tel . I tel
r Iel r r r id r
r r
r r r n r r
: p C + a (Y‘ Z P C )
r=1
where Cr -2 C ar - X a l = rou r and r - 2 Ci
-. ~ -. i’r‘g P 9-. pi—f—‘CT"
1d Id Id - l
r r r I e:lr
l”rice of group r is a weighted average of prices within group r with
Weights consisting of unknown parameters.
Given that the Cis are unknown two options exist. One is to
eStimate conditional expenditure equations within groups and to use the
resulting estimators of pr and Cr in the aggregate function (see Chapter 3).
The second is to use proxies for pr based on a price index. Ronald
Anderson (1979) performed a Monte Carlo experiment using an additive
F>et'fect price aggregate model and found that multilevel estimation out-
performed a variety of price index proxies using several criteria but
that no type of index clearly outperformed any other. The better per-
for‘I’I‘Iance of the multilevel procedure was especially marked for cases
"‘ which some commodities entering into a commodity group were inferior.
As not
aggregatiol
in Chapter
ture syste
conditional
multistage
one can re
curves, at
Specit
anea,
Short run
pmdUCtiOr
fixed. We
its “Soda
using a m
eons'Ctous
intereSled
in Dara",e1
function.
'9 COuld a
duction tu
Would inst
functions
However '
26
As noted, the QES we use is not separable, hence, perfect price
aggregation is not of direct use to this research. However, as we explore
in Chapter 3, use of a separable functional form such as the linear expendi-
ture system allows, under certain statistical assumptions, estimation of
conditional demand functions and composite demand functions in a
multistage procedure. In principle, this extends the number of commodities
one can realistically estimate, but again at the expense of linear Engel
curves, at least of the group expenditures.
Specifying the Production Side
Specifying the production block of the household-firm model will
involve a set of factor demand and output supply equations plus a
short run profits function. We have initially specified an implicit
production function of the form C(Xi,LT,D,K) , where D and K are
fixed. We could stop at this point, making operational‘this function (or
its associated short run profit function which we have seen exists)
USing a flexible form such as the translog. However, we must be
Conscious of our parameter usage particularly since we are not primarily
interested in the production side. The usual way to achieve parsimony
in parameters is by using assumptions on the nature of the production
irunction. Two general possibilities suggest themselves. At one extreme,
we could assume non-jointness, that is the existence of individual pro-
c‘uction functions for each output. With fixed land and capital this
would insure dependency of those outputs in whose production
functions land and capital appeared on the corresponding output prices.
However, assuming production functions to differ would entail at least
nIn para
inputs.
this app
form of
as a gro
H txil-i
1
degree E
are rest
tthadde
The que
terning
aSSUMpti
Arno
form is l
Strength
outPills
SUbStitu
tnlmd UC
27
nm parameters, where n is the number of outputs and m the number of
inputs. More importantly, there are inadequacies in our data for using
this approach (see Chapter 7). Alternatively, we could assume some
form of separability. One logical possibility would be to assume outputs
as a group to be separable from inputs as a group. That is, C(Xi,LT,D,K) =
H (Xi)-F(LT,D,K) . We could further assume almost homogeneity of
degree :- , that is, HUXi) = HASLT, ASD, ASK) . That these assumptions
are restrictive in the behavior they permit is true (for a survey see
McFadden, 1978, and for an extension to multiple outputs see Lau, 1978) .
The question for this research is whether the answers to questions con-
cerning food consumption which we are interested in are robust to
assumptions on the production side.
Among the possible functional forms to use for inputs one appealing
form is the Cobb-Douglas (CD). Its weaknesses are well known. Its
strength for our purposes is its requiring only m+1 parameters. For
Outputs we might think of the counterpart to the constant elasticity of
Substitution function, the constant elasticity of transformation (CET)
introduced by Powell and Cruen (1968) . The function, of the form
H (Xi)=(£6in)1/c, where 6i >0 and c>1 to insure convexity, entails
OHIy m+t parameters. Consequently, a CET-CD system would require
n+m+2 parameters which must surely be pushing the lower bound of
parameters in any reasonable system. Writing the CD function for
BL Bo BK
inputs as FlLT.D.K) = AoLT D K . we have
B B B
c 1/c _ L
(2.17) (geixi) — AoLT D K
anus
Sis as t
Tm
transfor
mbof
28
This production system requires one of two normalizations; either Ao—l
or Edi =1. This can be seen since we can write the left hand side as
(self/c (zsiiixfil’c where site: d'l mi and mix—.1. In this case A0 and
i i i i
(2691“: are not distinguishable, so one would estimate Ao‘ton/(Zéi )
i i
when using the normalization £6 i*=1. Alternatively, we can leave the
i
(Sis as they are and set A 0:1, which is what we have done in Chapter 7.
The parameter c can be transformed into—-— ,the elasticity of
That is if] is the elasticity of the
transformation between outputs. c-1
ratio of two outputs with respect to the marginal rate of transformation,
-3Xi/3Xi, between them. Since in a competitive equilibrium, which
we assume the marginal rate of transformation between outputs equals
the relative price ratio, the elasticity of transformation between outputs
is the elasticity of the ratio of two outputs with respect to their price
ratio For this production function the elasticity of transformation para-
meter is constant, hence the name CET. Moreover, it is the same for
Indeed, one generalization of this functional form
all pairs of outputs.
, 1971) to
would be to write it as a multilevel CET (Mundlak and Razin
capture differing transformation elasticities between outputs from
different groups.
The 6i parameters have their meaning in the marginal rate of trans-
-8X. 6. X. c— 1
formation. It is easily seen that §——i—= 5i xi On the input side,
the 8 parameters have the usual meaning for al Cobb- Douglas specification,
that is, the percent change in all outputs due to an infinitesimal change
in the particular input. The sum of the B's is the degree of almost
l"<>II‘Iogeneity .
Maxii
it being i
(2.l8
These QQL
Of this fur
input are .
are [he Sal
With reSpe
ticities of
“logs COn
the]
"here A s
Thus
in all reg;
a“Ow fC
ontheinF
0f greatei
29
Maximizing profits subject to 2.17 (normalizing Ao=1) and to D and
K being fixed, we arrive at the output supply and labor demand equations.
8 Il—B _ _ -
(2.18) piXi = 3L5 '— 5i 1/(c 1) pic/(c 1)
-1/(c-1) p c/(c—1)) (CBL-U/cU—BL)
(Z6
k k k
B B l/(I—B) (-B /(1-B ))
i=1, 0 O C, n
1 I
B B ("T-I t-j—I (‘3 /(1-B l)
-1 c-1
—_ _ ( _ l
(Zéic 1 pic/(c1))c(1 BL)
i
These equations point out some of the simplifications made by selection
pLLT
of this functional form. Elasticities of value output with respect to fixed
8.
Input are 778'— , where i is either D or K. This means these elasticities
L
are the same for all outputs. Also, the elasticities of value output
-B
L are identical for all outputs. Own price elas-
with respect to wage ——
l-BL
ticities of value output and of value labor demand are not identical
across commodities.
T
Inp.x _c__. __
I i _ 1 c-1 c—1 ‘ _ _
(2.19) Inpi -C:T + pi 6i (CBL 1)/((l BL)“: HA)
_ _ _ 3lnp L
Where A = XPiCI(c 1) Oi I/(C 1) and grab—t—T : —BL/(1-BL).
i
Thus far we assume the implicit production function to be identical
in all regions in Sierra Leone. One way to capture some differences is
to allow for fixed regional effects, for instance, on the intercept term
on the input function. Indeed, this is pursued in the estimation procedure.
of greater difficulty are possible differences in the remaining parameters.
One coul
Alternati
some mea
aregion.
data adal
possibilit
(which i:
Estir
appeal in
re(lions I
“0 price
may be (2
1° be est
Aggregai
tSSues as
Produqi,
certain p
A5 f1
Byerleei
Leone [a
are Very
farms in
directly .
beret3501
0f Capttal
30
One could add slope dummy variables but at a large cost in parameters.
Alternatively, one could assume that parameters vary, randomly around
some mean with a disturbance which is identical for households within
a region. This is essentially the Swamy (19714) specification for panel
data adapted to a regional cross section. Of greater difficulty is the
possibility that some outputs are not produced at all in some areas
(which is true for our sample, see Chapters II and 7) .
Estimating the household—firm model by agro-climatic region has
appeal in principle, however, separating 138 households into eight
regions will not leave sufficient data for estimation, and worse will leave
no price variation as that is regional (see Chapter It) . Compromising
may be possible but at the potential cost of having to reduce parameters
to be estimated and reducing observed price and input differentials.
Aggregation of outputs or inputs may help some but raises the same
issues as on the demand side of the model. Hence, we assume that the
production function is identical throughout rural Sierra Leone, but with
certain parameters possibly varying with region.
As for the limited number of inputs, this specification is based on
Byerlee and Spencer's (1977) extensive study of farm firms in Sierra
Leone (also Byerlee, Spencer and Franzel, 1979) . Fertilizer purchases
are very limited and tractor services are hired by only a few mechanized
farms in a particular area, Bolilands. This study is not concerned
directly with changes in farming systems so these factors can probably
be reasonably abstracted from (though they are included in our measure
of capital flow--see Chapter It) .
Spe
seed in
and pro
StrUCtUt
CHAPTER 3
ESTIMATION OF MODEL
Specifying the Error Structure
Specifying the error structure of the household-firm model can pro-
ceed in two ways. We can specify an error structure within the utility
and production (or profit) functions and derive the appropriate error
structure for the expenditure equations. The more common approach
has been to append an error structure onto the demand and supply
equations with, perhaps, some attention to pr0perties of the error struc-
ture.
In the first approach we could add a stochastic component to the
utility and production functions except that we are abstracting from
uncertainty. Alternatively, we can assume randomness in parameters
which reflects differences in household tastes. This has been pursued
by Pollak and Wales (1969) and Wales and Woodland (1979). For this
study randomness in demand parameters to account for differences
in tastes makes sense only if we think important differences exist
Which are not due to demographic characteristics. Wales and
wOodland append errors to first order conditions of utility maximi-
zation. Interpreting such errors as errors in allocation rather than
deterministic components reflecting differences in tastes would
Iead to estimation of the structural first order conditions rather than
the reduced form demand, expenditure or share equations. Deriving
the likelihood function for the observed commodity and factor input
31
demands
matter 0‘
observe:
the erro
if in
form. H
errorsb
duction)
(values
iSno re;
to be thi
disturba
annveC
‘NtonT;
hold? I,
distribut
believe)
32
demands and output supplies would be a straightforward (though messy)
matter of taking the jacobian of the transformation from errors to
observed variables and multiplying that by the likelihood function of
the error terms, which we would assume.
If we are to be more conventional we can add errors to the reduced
form. Here the question arises which form of the reduced form should
errors be added to. The choices are threefold: for the demand (pro-
duction) system they are quantity demand (supply) equations, expenditure
(value supply) equations and share (share of profits) equations (there
is no reason why the form for the demand and production sides ought
to be the same). The choice will depend on in which form one expects the
disturbances to have desirable pr0perties. For household t let 6t be
I I I I
an n vector error. Assume e: s to be iid N(0,Z) so that e=(51, 81"" 81.)
t
”N(0,l.rfi£) . On which form of the reduced form is this most likely to
hold? In particular, on which form are the disturbances identically
distributed? Pollak and Wales in most of their work on demand systems
believe the share equations are the proper ones to which to add this
error structure. Using experience from estimating Engel curves they
feel the errors on expenditure equations have a heteroskedastic nature
of the form E(et. Eti) =oiiy2, y 5 total expenditure. Hence, dividing
each equation by y, resulting in share equations, is the appropriate
Solution. Alternatively, one might assume as did Pollak and Wales
( 1969) that errors on the demand equations have structure
E ( 5 ti eti
However the error structure is specified, residuals may be examined for
) = oiin'Xf where the hats indicate non—stochastic portions.
the appropriateness of the specification, and if heteroskedasticity is
Suspected statistical tests may be performed.
Witt
expendi'
equation
output 5
Assume
and
(3,3)
33
Without loss of generality assume error terms are added to the
expenditure equations and value of factor demand and output supply
equations. Subtracting the value of factor demand from the value of
output supply equations yields the short run profit function, 1T.
Assume profits have a stochastic component, also. Then 1):; + e
and iZEZi - 62L = e", where €2i are disturbances added to the value of
output supply and labor demand equations. Hence, for each household
the sum of errors on the value of output supply equations less the
disturbances on the value of labor demand and profits equations is
zero.
One the demand side the disturbances also sum to zero. Formally
we may write
c_ i _ _ L
(3.1) piXi - h (p,pLT+n)+ a", pLLH - h (p,pLT+TT)+ 61L
provided Zh'(p,pLT+11 )+hL(p,pLT+TT) = n , which is true for any
i
theoretically plausible nonstochastic system, then Xe"): 81L = 0.
i
For any household t,
(3.2) pix:i \ (h:(plpLT+TT) \ Etli \
t 1 t
‘pLLtH l http'pLT”) €t1L
l i '
~11t I: -gt (p,K,D) + -€t11
I
’ a
I | .
pixtl i 9t (p'K'D) l Et2i
' t L /
pLLtT’t 9t (p'K'D) \ €t2L
and
where i
have be
now that
to see b
lli. this
"i
. corre
section(
If w
techniqt
one equ;
mvarian
our test
ture Wit
structUr
equatIOI‘.
dropoet)
block an
'QSUltim
(3.21
cit/En 0t.
34
where i is a unit vector of appropriate dimension. Note that the equations
have been stacked with the consumption block equations on top. Assume
* t I *4 I * *
now that at = (i:t1 , cu) ~ N(0, Z ). Then 2 is singular. This is easy
- a _ * * __ * e _ _
to see because If {item — 0 then fetljstlk — 0, Vk,and §E(et1ieuk)—Ziolik-O,
Ht. this means that elements of each row (and column) of that part of
*
t1
*
sectIon of 2 corresponding to em, €t2'
If we were to estimate this system using a maximum likelihood
*
)3 corresponding to 5 adds to zero. The same will be true for the
technique we would ignore one equation in the demand system and
one equation in the production system (because we need to invert the
covariance matrix) . Which equations were dropped would not affect
our results. Barten (1969) has proved that result for an error struc-
ture with one redundant equation. His result easily extends for a
structure composed of two sub-structures each with one redundant
equation. Assume that the labor supply and profits equations are
dropped. Then we have n equations remaining in the consumption
block and n+1 equations in the production block. We may rewrite the
resulting system as
c i I
‘3’“) pixti ht (p'pLT+Zpixti pLLT) etl \
pixti = g; (p,K,D) +
- L L( K D) e;
pL tT} 9t p' ' J t2
* I I I
Given our assumptions on e: t' 5 ~ N(0,Z ) . Then the
t = (Etl’ E:tz)
likelihood function for pix:i \ is
pixti
'pLLtTl
(3.5
where J
E
dependei
(3.6
It Wt
all t the)
(3.7
In °Ur Ci
Stalliable
35
-(2n+l)
_ 2 ”'5 _ ' -I
(3.5) Lt- (2n) |X| ||J€t||exp{ «let 2 at}
where J5: is the Jacobian of the transformation of disturbances into
t
dependent variables, and
I l I
(3.6) l. I 0...0 -8ht/8p1X1t - aht/B p2X2t ahtl apLLT
to 100 -ah2/a x ahz/a L
f ' t p1 1t t pL T
4.
it n n
( o o ..1 - Bht/BPIX" ahtIapLLT
l
II | = o o ..o 1 o o
e
t l
I 1 \
l 0 l1
0 o 1 t‘
= In A
=1, where A is nx(n+1) with
0 In+1
_ _ i ':
Aii - Bht/ 3ijit ) 1,. . ., n
i ._
3 ht/B pLLT j—n+l
If we assume the e'ts to be independently, identically distributed for
I
all t then the likelihood function for e: = (81, . . ., ET) is
127nm” -T/2 ' -1
(3.7) L=(2n) [2| expt-izetz at}
t
-T
7‘2"”) -T/2 -1 '
= (211) [El exp {-i Trace 62‘. e }
In our case this will be a nonlinear in parameters likelihood function.
Barnett (1976) and Gallant and Holly (1980) have shown that under
suitable regularity assumptions the consistent and asymptotically efficient
propertii
function
asymptot
where E}
If th
dlStleUt‘
likelihood
Et Stile)
an ~Ntd
0n the pr
tom) are
Emilio.
tn+]) X (t
not be Spy
USed. C0
tie)
t"litre F ;
36
properties of maximum likelihood estimators hold when the likelihood
function is nonlinear in parameters. Moreover, the covariance of the
asymptotic distribution of /T(8 -— 8) continues to be lim ((1/T)9.)_1,
T+oo
where it 5 information matrix .
Effect of Non—Identically
Distributed Errors
If the errors appended to the value equations are not identically
distributed across households, this can easily be incorporated into the
likelihood function. In the consumption block it may be that
“c
_ “c“c . . _ X . 0
E( etIIEtII) - omxtixti. Defining Ft1 - II. we have
0 Ac
0 th
Etl ~ N(0,Ftl )3" F“), where Z 11 IS the nxn upper left corner of 2.
On the production side it may be that errors appended to the quantity
form are identically dIstrIbuted. In thIs case E(e t2i€t2j) = o 2ijpipj and
€t2 ~N(0,Ft2 £22Ft2) , where Pa = P1 0 and 222 Is the
’p
n
0 9L
(n+1) x (n+1) lower right corner of )3. Of course, the F matrices need
not be specified this way. Indeed, many different specifications can be
used. Combining both sides we rewrite the likelihood function 3.7 as
-T
(2n+1) _ T _ T . _
(3.8) L=(21i) 2 (2| T” n ||Ft||1exp{-} z etFt'
t=l t=1
F o
where Ft: t1
0 F
t2
-1 -)
2 Ft at}
Ofi
that is,
bances c
of two 5
put sup;
diagonal
trlanguli
demand I
WhaNOn
will not I
Separate
hllllsehol
(3.9;
"Mmhf
°f°ulput
ITEXOQEI
(340.
'37
Block Recursivitl of Model
Of interest for estimation purposes is how we specify 2. If 2 = X
that is, if disturbances on the demand side are independent of distur-
bances on the production side, then the likelihood function is the product
of two such functions, one for the demand equations and one for the out-
put supply and factor demand equations. This is due to the block
diagonal ity of the covariance matrix of disturbances plus the block
triangularity of parameters in the system (that is, the fact that commodity
demand parameters do not enter into output supply and factor demand
equations when decision making is recursive). Moreover, profits, ‘lT,
will not be correlated with the consumption block disturbances. Hence,
separate estimation will not result in inconsistent estimates. For any
householdt
-(n+1)
(3.9) Lt=(2n)-n/2(2n) 2 [21H |22|'*exp{-)(ht(iy2,21,zz;el)
' ' -1
g,(22,z3.82)) z, 0 nt t.)
-1
0 22 9t l.)
where htEdemand side equations, gtE production side equations, yZEvalue
of output supplies and negative factor demands so i'y2 Emeasured profits,
ZiEexogenous variables, and Biz parameters. Then
-(n+1)
(3.10) Lt = (211).,”2 IZII-iexp {-ihtilrhtiun) 2
_ l ..1
I
fien:
areni
nnfiy
sctha
mse
demar
tbnc)
asum
mutt
whkh
tech
EStlma
hrfe
ntimer
hfima
ifwe)
many
canin
inoUr
cartbs
enablii
38
If, however, the disturbance covariance matrix is not block diagonal
then this property no longer holds. Parameters from the demand side
are no longer separable from those of the production side. More impor-
tantly, profits are now correlated with consumption side disturbances,
sc that separate estimation results in inconsistent estimates. In this
case, the maximum likelihood estimator entails joint estimation of both the
demand and production blocks of the system. In principle, the assump-
tion of block diagonality is a testable one. We could estimate the system
assuming block independence of the disturbances and use a Lagrange
multiplier test (see Rao, 1973, pp. ll18—20; or Breusch and Pagan, 1980),
which requires only restricted parameter estimates.
Another reason to assume block diagonality is to increase computational
tractability, thus allowing a larger problem to be examined. Separate
estimation of the consumption and production sides of the models entails
far fewer parameters being estimated for each separately. When using
numerical maximum likelihood techniques the number of parameters being
estimated greatly affects the cost and tractability of doing so. Hence,
if we can estimate the subsystems separately we will be able to estimate
many more parameters in total than if we did not. This means that we
can include more commodity disaggregation and more demographic variables
in our estimation, making the problem more interesting.
A further reduction in problem size to increase computer tractability
can be accomplished by concentrating the likelihood function. If there
exist no,constraints on X” and 2 these would be obvious candidates,
22'
n(n+1) and (n+1)(n+2)
2 2
respectively, a total of (n+1)2. Maximizing the likelihood function with
enabling reduction of
independent parameters
respec
fikelfix
-l
1212
We
functk
unknot
functk
give q
gr0up‘
elpeni
°testi
grttupi
let/Ers
late p
Iith tl
hOusel
altribL
“thin
motion
seeds
some a
M(
Btalth
”hers
squat)
39
respect to elements of 22—1 we obtain 2 = %= E 'e and the concentrated
-T/2
likelihood function L* = Kl a} e ' cl , where KE constant =
:—2I(2n+1)
(2 ) exp {-)T(2n+1)} .
Estimating Multilevel Demand _Sjstems
We have seen how assuming some form of separability of the utility
function can aid in forming price indices which in general depend on
unknown parameters. A further property of weakly separable utility
functions is that conditional demand functions may be derived which
give quantity as a function of group expenditure and prices within the
group, with group expenditures being a function of all prices and total
expenditure, or income (see Pollak, 1971b) . This raises the possibility
of estimating our household-firm model using very aggregate commodity
groupings and then estimate within group expenditure equations. By
reversing the order of estimating one could possibly estimate the aggre-
gate price indices from within group expenditure systems. To do this
with theoretically plausible demand systems would require using in the
household-firm model a function exhibiting the required separability
attributes. This would rule out use of the QES. In addition, estimating
within group expenditure systems would entail having to deal with esti-
mation problems caused by some households not consuming any of certain
goods (more on this below). With these qualifications in mind, we discuss
some additional issues which would be involved in such multilevel estimation.
Multilevel systems of demand equations have been estimated by
Braithwaite (1977, 1980), Deaton (1975) and R.W. Anderson (1979) among
others. Fuss (1977) has estimated a multilevel system of input demand
equations. One major econometric problem stands out. When intra-group
deman
niques
equatii
gate 9
the £01
disturl
the cor
Ev
are stil
conditi.
we esti
ti esti
Sistent
WStem
aggreg
0f the 1
llO
demand systems are estimated separately by maximum likelihood tech-
niques, there is an implicit assumption that disturbances on expenditure
equations within a group are independent of the disturbances for aggre-
gate group equations. Otherwise, the group expenditure variable in
the conditional demand equation will be correlated with that equation's
disturbance. This is completely analogous to our result on estimating
the consumption subsystem separately from the production subsystem.
Even if the necessary independence of disturbances holds, there
are still problems, but manageable ones. We would like disturbances on
conditional demand equations for different groups to be independent if
we estimate systems for these groups separately. If this is not true and
we estimate the systems separately, our parameter estimates will be con-
sistent, but efficiency will be sacrificed. If we estimate within group
systems first and then use the resulting parameter estimates in the
aggregate model there is the question of deriving the statistical properties
of the resulting estimators given that we have estimated sequentially. We
have in a sense two subsystems, an aggregate model and a collection of
subaggregates. Assuming that disturbances of the two subsystems
are independent, unconditional maximum likelihood estimation would
still not be separate maximization of the two likelihood functions because
parameters in the aggregate model are combinations of parameters in
the within group systems. One could estimate the subsystems separately
and obtain consistent parameter estimates, but efficiency would be lost
because of cross equation parameter restrictions being ignored.
Theil (197a, 197Sa,b) assumes that the covariance matrix of the error
terms on the disaggregated expenditure system is proportional to the
negative of the Slutsky substitution matrix. In his work he offers some
“9%
an t
nota
of ti
1972
dem.‘
pric
a se
and
eou;
errc
eacl
indi
tion
The
tact
the
asy
fun.
ithe
anc
In
suggestions as to why this might be a plausible assumption. If we use
an LES, the iith element of the Slutsky matrix is -1Rai(1-ai) (using our
-I12aiaj. This follows from the additivity
of the Klein—Rubin utility function (for instance, see Brown and Deaton,
notation), and the ijth element is
1972). Suppose we have R groups. Using the LES we can form conditional
demand functions of expenditures within each group as a function of
prices within the group and of total group expenditure. Then we have
a set of equations relating group expenditures to group price indices
and to total expenditures, and separate sets of conditional expenditure
equations. Using Theil's assumptions regarding the distribution of the
error terms one can show that within group disturbances sum to zero for
each group, that within group disturbances from different groups are
independent, and that disturbances from every conditional demand equa-
tion are independent of disturbances from the across groups equations.
The operational significance of these results is slightly limited by the
fact that parameters of the across groups equations are combinations of
the conditional expenditure equation parameters. Hence, as mentioned,
asymptotical efficiency is sacrificed by maximization of separate likelihood
functions.
To see the foregoing results we write
(3.11) ys = psCs+as(y-£ psCs) + E5
S
where (3.11) is identical to (2.16) with E5 = 2 cf . Multiply 3.11 by
ies
ai la3 and subtract this from the expenditure equation for commodity i
and one obtains :
a. a.
_ I s_ s___I s _
(3012) PiYi-PiYi+—§(Y .ZP.C.)+€i SE'VIESI S—),. ,R
a (as a
a.
LetV§= 6,5 -——-I-Es,
I I s
a
since as = z ai, clearly )3 Vi: 0, VS.
lgS I85
Here I
Sinila
be tri
Profit
Will it
5“hot
a. a a.a.
(3.13) E(vrv.5) =o§s--1- z 07.5-1- z or.s+—'-L z 2: 07.5
I j I) r . I] s . jl r s . . I]
a ler a 165 a a IEI“ )es
1 1 1 a.a.
=---a.a.,+-a.a.+-a.a.-——'—L Z a. Z a.=0
Kl] Klelers. I.
aa ler j€S
rs 1
Here we use the fact that Oi' = -K' a|al
rr rr ai rr
(3.111) E(ViE ) = )3 Oi' +7 2 Z Oi'
jt-:rl a ier jerl
=it(-a(1—a)--1Kai Z erg-i; 2 Q ai(1—ai)-i1zai Z a.)
thi la ier if) I
IEr jer
a
1 1 i 1 1r
=-a.--a Z a -—(- Z a --a 2 a.)
K'K'jen’arKier'Kicr|
-1 -1 '-l l ’—
—Kai Kaia Kai+Kaia —0
Similarly, E(V:Es) = 0, #5. Consequently, group expenditure, ys, can
be treated as predetermined in the conditional demand equations just as
profits are in the household-firm model with block independence.
Estimation with Censored Data
A potential statistical problem arises from the possibility that there
will be zeroes for some households for some expenditures or output
supplies. Clearly, the greater the level of aggregation the less likely
this will occur. Still it may show up, especially for output supplies,
for which households may specialize in more than for consumption. This
is a problem mainly for estimation purposes and only if there are numerous
zero observations. On the demand side if our utility function is U(X'i'.)
and our budget constraint y = ZpiX? then allowing for corner solutions
i
we take Kuhn-Tucker conditions:
He
the
1&3
(3.15) aura xic-xpiSo, xfra uraxic-Api) = 0, i=1, . . ., n+1
Y"? I"ixic 20' Mrgpix?) = 0
I I
xfz 0
Hence, we do not consume X? if the marginal utility of the money to pur-
chase it is greater than the marginal utility of consuming it, when none
is consumed. Obviously, we must constrain the utility function to allow
for zero consumption, for instance, in the Klein-Rubin function zero
consumption of good i implies Ci<0, or else the function will not exist.
This raises a question if one derives a demand system from an indirect
utility function, e.g., for the QES case, does the direct utility function
which gives rise to it allow for zero consumption? Be that as it may
for estimation purposes the problem is that of the censored distribution,
or Tobit. If piX?-? 0 and if pixf= fi(p‘,y) + 5i then ET 2 -fi(p,y) . In
estimation, however, we assume 2: " N(O,Z) . Clearly, the dependent
variable has its distribution piled up, or censored, at -fi(p,y) . The
expected value of the disturbances is no longer zero (giving rise to incon-
sistent estimators in the simple ols case). The usual solution would be
to let piX?*= fi(p,y)+€i and piX§= max (0,piX§*) (assume no measure-
ment error). Our case is a bit more complicated than this because of
the budget constraint on the demand side. Assuming a theoretically
plausible demand system, we have )ZpiX?*= y or 22:: .ZpiX? ly=1. We
observe pch , however, and denoting share of ghod i lay zi we must
have .Zzi = 1. If zi = max (0,2?) and if some 2:5 are negative,
' * *
this will not be so. Wales and Woodland (1978) normalize zi = z. [2 z.
. . j
I 5 I
J = {j:zi*>0} . They derive an extremely messy likelihood function
I
for the zi (with one share equation dropped). Basically, the function
invc
dist
one
llitl
extl
For
nati
Kul
var
Let
Obs
obs
in
Est
Illi
involves multiple integrals of probabilities under a multivariate normal
distribution, one integral for each zero observation per household, so
one household with three zeroes would involve one triple integral.
With many households (300—400) Wales and Woodland find computation
extremely expensive and so include only three expenditure categories.
For the household-firm model expense may well be prohibitive. Alter-
natively (Wales and Woodland, 1979) , one can append errors to the
Kuhn-Tucker conditions and derive an appropriate likelihood function.
Of course, we have ignored measurement errors on our dependent
variable. To indicate the problem we examine the simple Tobit case.
Let y* = zB+e and y = max (0,y*), where y is the "true" variable. We
observe X = y+v. Since X can now be negative (a few of the consumption
observations are, see Chapter ll) there is no way to know which observa-
tions correspond to data at the point of censoring and which do not.
Estimation is hopeless without bringing further information to bear.
This
mil
Sell
Thl
J Ur
red
on
R0
ac
0t)
to
CHAPTER II
DATA: PREPARATION AND
SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS
Sampling Procedure
The data were collected throughout rural Sierra Leone in 1974-75.
This was done as part of a large project under the leadership of
Drs. Dunstan Spencer and Derek Byerlee. That project was investi-
gating the employment and output effects of alternative development
strategies.
The sampling procedures are amply described elsewhere (e.g.,
Byerlee and Eicher, 1971); Spencer and Byerlee, 1977; King and Byerlee,
1977; Smith, Lynch, Whelan, Strauss and Baker, 1979). Very briefly,
the rural area was divided into eight agro—climatic zones. Within each
zone enumeration areas (EAs) were delineated and three were randomly
selected. Within each enumeration area, 21) households were sampled.
This set of households was visited twice weekly from March 1971) to
June 1975 (with some households dropping out of the survey for various
reasons). Data was collected on production and sales of commodities,
on labor use by activity, on prices paid and received, and so forth.
Roughly one-half of the sample was chosen randomly to participate in
a consumption expenditure survey. These households were interviewed
twice during one week in each month to record frequent purchases, and
Once a month to record large, infrequent purchases. This was designed
to give purchase information for one week out of each month, as Opposed
ll5
The
of ti
the l
numl
iii l
he
dish.
move
hold
Bye)
Sin:
and
her
Pro
°Ut
tiOr
Que
00o
in I
acc
tot
£16
to the production and labor use interaction which was collected weekly.
The recall periods for the consumption survey were four days, with one
of the days overlapping (See Lynch, 1980, for a detailed treatment of
the method and of the different results resulting from different
number of days recall). Of the 576 households in the production survey,
4113 remained with reasonably complete data at the end. Households in
three enumeration areas were dropped because of enumerator failure or
dishonesty. Other households had to be dropped because of deaths,
movement or other factors. For the consumption survey 203 house-
holds out of 250 initially in the survey remained at the end (King and
Byerlee, 1977, p. 8).
Calculation of Quantity Data
Quantities of foods consumed annually were calculated for 128 foods.
Since this was a much more disaggregated list than that used by Byerlee
and Spencer, the calculations had to be computed from raw data. There
were two components of consumption; quantities consumed out of own
production and quantities purchased on the market. Quantities consumed
out of own production were estimated as a residual. Estimates of produc-
tion were taken as a starting point. From these quantities were subtracted
quantities sold, wages paid out in kind and seed use for rice (the only
commodity for which seed use data was available). Added were wages
in kind received and rice seed purchased. Net gifts and loans were not
accounted for. Change in storage from the beginning of the crop year
to the end of the crop year was assumed to be zero. This was necessary
because the beginning stocks data were not considered reliable by
Byerlee and Spencer. After the above calculations had been made,
commodities defined at different stages in production were grouped
togetl
form I
and t
form.
rice e
use 0
prodl
was It
no ve
from
Padd
to be
and
math
repo
undt
altel
Cteat
Ultd
the
Clea
rag]
47
together to avoid double counting. Disappearances of the more processed
form of commodity were converted into units of the less processed form
and then subtracted from quantities available for the less processed
form. For instance, sales of rice flour were converted into cleaned
rice equivalents and then subtracted from availability for household
use of cleaned rice. Finally, having combined different stages of
production, a "guesstimate" of the fraction of availability lost in storage
was made for different crops and subtracted. Unfortunately, there are
no very reliable data on this. Some very sketchy evidence is available
from the National Academy of Sciences (1978) .
For rice two different estimates were prepared. One used rice
paddy production as measured by field cuttings. This was considered
to be the most reliable production estimate by Byerlee and Spencer
and is the one used (converted into clean rice equivalent) when esti—
mating the system of output supplies and labor demand. However,
reported sales of rice are considered by Byerlee and Spencer to be
understated. If this is so, subtracting a low sales estimate from a
good production estimate will leave a high availability estimate. An
alternative measure was provided by measuring the production of
cleaned rice, a later stage of processing, and subtracting disappearances
from that. Most sales of rice are made before it is cleaned so
beginning with this stage of production hopefully avoids much of the
underreporting of sales. A possible problem with this measure is that
the production of cleaned rice may be somewhat understated. Rice is
cleaned fairly frequently and in small amounts so it may be easy for a
respondent to forget some of what was cleaned. When both availability
By.
dtll
48
figures were made and compared to the few other estimates of rice
consumption that exist, it was found that the measure using cleaned
rice production corresponded much better (see Smith, Lynch, Whelan,
Strauss, and Baker, 1979) . Hence, the cleaned rice consumption
figure was used in the demand part of this study.
In deriving the annual figures for production and net disappearances
of foods, the same procedure was used for each component. This pro-
cedure was also used by Byerlee and Spencer in preparing their more
aggregate estimates. Computation was carried out for 328 households.1
First, the quantities were added for each month for each household.
At this stage local units were converted into four standardized units
using conversion factors supplied by Byerlee and Spencer. In general,
these factors came from actual weighings made in local markets. For
many households there was an incomplete accounting of the month.
Perhaps an enumerator was sick, etc. If less than 16 days per month
were accounted for the month was considered to be missing. If missing
days numbered less than 16 the incomplete monthly totals were divided
by the fraction of the month covered to arrive at a monthly total (the
number of days missed were available for each month and for each
household). Figures for missing months, in almost all cases two or less,
were estimated by a procedure outlined in King and Byerlee (1977,
pp. 73-75) . The procedure assumes that the monthly distribution of a
household's consumption is identical to that of other households in the
1The remaining households in the set of M3 were considered by
Byerlee and Spencer to be unfit for income analysis. Usually this was
due to inadequate production data.
53ml
annl
CODE
allm
hold
the
divi
gooc
divi-
in t'
ver‘
tars
hou
The
r EC;
ava
coil
of .
the
Us]
to
ll9
same agro~climatic zone. Indices representing the proportion of
annual consumption for the zone that occurred in each month were
constructed from the non-missing data. These indices were calculated
for 17 aggregated commodity groups. Using such a level of aggregation
allowed the averaging to take place over a sufficient number of house-
holds to provide a meaningful average for the region. The indices for
the missing month(s) were subtracted from unity and the result
divided into the sum of the particular household's quantities for the
good months. That is, the household's incomplete annual figure was
divided by that proportion of annual consumption which takes place in
the months for which the figures correspond, by an average household
in the particular region. The resulting annual figures were then con—
verted into kilograms.
These figures were then edited in a few instances for extremely
large positive and large negative observations, taking into account
household size and household income in the editing process.
Quantities of foods purchased were constructed in the same way.
The day of overlap was removed, the figure coming from the shortest
recall period being used. Monthly data were used only if data were
available for at least three of the seven days for which data were
collected. Households were drapped if they had less than six months
of useable data. Monthly household totals were constructed by dividing
the incomplete monthly data by the proportion of days in the month
for which the household had reported. Missing months were filled in by
using the same indexing procedure as was done for consumption out of
home production .
whic
of h
hous
out .
valu
Cakn
then
out .
°PP<
some
valu
that
in u
and
End(
0n F
diff;
PUn
Plot
Plic
Chas
PUrc
50
Quantities of foods purchased were only calculated for households
which were in the good production sample and which met the criterion
of having at least six good months of data. There were 11I0 such
households.
Values of foods consumed were calculated by multiplying consumption
out of home production by farm gate sales prices and adding that to the
value of foods purchased, using purchase prices to make the latter
calculation. This was done for each of the foods and these values were
then added into the appropriate commodity groups. Valuing consumption
out of own production at farm gate price implies this is the relevant
opportunity cost; that is, the item could have been sold. This will not
be strictly true for every household but it will be true for many. For
some households, which are net purchasers, one could argue that they
value consumption out of own production at purchase price providing
that qualities of foods from own production and from the market are equal.
In the limit this approach would value foods differently for each household
and would run into serious problems of the resulting prices being
endogenous to the household-firm model, as we shall see in the section
on prices. Alternatively, we could argue that there are some quality
differences between foods consumed out of home production and foods
purchased. The latter after all have embodied in them certain services
provided by persons in the market system. From this point of view the
two sources of foods ought to have different prices and farm gate
price and purchase price are the two best estimates available.
Value of nonfood consumption was taken as the sum of values pur-
chased and values produced less values sold. Again, the former use
purchase prices and the latter two sales prices. This had previously
bee
tak
anc
dut
grc
pro
dril
89"
50h
anc
51
been computed for use in King and Byerlee (1977) and values were
taken from that study. Of the lilo households having complete food
consumption data two did not have nonfood expenditure information
and so were dropped. This left 138 households, our final sample size.
Values of production were derived by multiplying quantities pro-
duced by farm gate sales price, and then added into the apprOpriate
groups. Production of raw products was used; processed product
production was not added in order to avoid double counting. For example
for fish, only estimates of fresh production were used. Production of
dried fish was not added to that.
Household labor supplied was measured in terms of male equivalents.
Spencer and Byerlee (1977) found that wages for females over 15 were
.75 of wages for males over 15, and children aged 11—15 had wages .5
of male adult wages. Under the assumption that relative wages reflect
relative marginal productivities, hours of labor supplied were weighted
by these factors and then summed. Labor supply includes work on all
agricultural and nonagricultural activities in the household, plus labor
sold out. It excludes such activities as food preparation, child care
and so forth. The variable was derived by summing the weighted hours
mrked by all persons on these activities, and subtracting weighted
hours worked by hired laborers.
Labor demanded by the household was estimated in the same way as
labor supplied, but hired labor was included and labor sold out and
labor used in processing agricultural products were excluded. The
latter was excluded because processed agricultural products were not
included in the production measures to avoid double counting.
eacl
agr
hou
of t
pro
of i
den
Her
but
35
of
pri
ex]
5y:
sin
bat
th
ins
We
”St
the
52
Calculation of Prices
Sales prices and purchase prices were calculated separately for
each food commodity. The prices were calculated for each of the eight
agro-climatic regions. Prices were available for each transaction a
household made. In principle, we could have calculated prices for each
of the 138 households. This would have created serious statistical
problems. Assume that every household in a region faced the same set
of sales and purchase prices. Still, different households have different
demographic characteristics and different amounts of land and of capital.
Hence, even with a common utility function, different households would
buy and sell foods at different times of the year. Since prices will have
a seasonal movement, calculating an average price for each household
would result in those averages being different for each household, even
though the households actually faced the same set of prices. The source
of the different prices would be different household behavior. That is,
prices would be endogenous to the household-firm model we use to
explain household behavior. To then use these prices in estimating a
system of demand equations would result in inconsistent parameter estimates
since these "independent" variables would be correlated with the distur-
bances on the equations. It is in order to avoid this problem that we
average prices of transactions across households. Region was chosen
instead of enumeration area as the definition of market area because it
was feared that the latter might be too small. Also, region is the area
used by Byerlee and Spencer when they compute their prices.
Sales prices were calculated using the production sample of 328
households. Since the production and sales data for those households
were considered useable by Byerlee and Spencer, it seemed to be unwise
S3
to throw out the information provided by those households not in our
final sample of 138. The prices were calculated as total value of sales
in a region divided by total quantity of sales in the region. All prices
are in Leones per kilogram. Purchase prices were calculated in the
same manner using only the smaller sample of 140 households. Sales
and purchase prices were averaged to obtain a single average con-
sumption price for each of the 128 foods. The weights used were the
proportion of the value of total consumption (from purchases and from
home production) in the region represented by the value of either con-
sumption out of home production or of consumption from purchases.
That is, the value of total consumption was added over households in
a region; this was the denominator of the weight. Values of consumption
from home production and from purchases were added separately across
households in a region; these were the numerators of the weights.
Hence, the weights were regional as were the prices. Prices of the
128 commodities were then aggregated into the appropriate groups,
again using the prOportion of value of group consumption represented
by each component as the weight. Algebraically we have
er vi.P
("'1’ Piziiit vi pus" vi PilP)
where PiE regional price of group i, Pijsasales price of food j in group i;
pijPE purchase price of food j in group i, Vii-I value of total consumption
in the region for group i; Vin Evalue of consumption out of home pro-
duction; ViiPEvalue of consumption from market purchases. These are
the prices used in estimating the quadratic expenditure system. The
average was arithmetic not geometric. The latter is appropriate for
estimating a translog system but the former is apprOpriate for estimating
51)
a linear expenditure system, which is a special case of the QES. As
seen in Chapter 2, the QES is not separable so perfect price aggregators
such as used by Anderson (1979) are not possible.
Farm sales prices for the 128 foods were aggregated into the same
groups as the weighted sales and purchase prices were. In this case
the weights were the proportion of value of regional sales for the group
represented by each of its component foods. The weights were cal-
culated using the large production sample of 328 households. These
were the prices used in estimating the system of output supplies and
labor demands. There is room for disagreement as to whether these
weighted sales prices or the weighted "consumption" prices used in the
QES estimation ought to have been used on the production side. On the
one hand, the household-firm model does not distinguish between the
two prices, indeed it assumes they are equal. From this point of view,
we should use the same set of prices for each component of the model.
However, looking at the dichotomous nature of the model, we first
maximize short run profits subject to a production function. If this
were done as a separate study sales prices are the appropriate ones to
use.
Nonfood sales prices by region were available from the earlier work
of Byerlee and Spencer. Nonfood purchase prices were not available.
In deriving them we could not use the same procedures as were used
for foods. The same item was often purchased in several different
units. For foods a great deal of effort was expended by Victor Smith
and William Whelan in obtaining conversions into a common unit, kilograms,
but this was not done for nonfoods. However, we did have values of
nonfood purchases. These had been used by King and Byerlee. We
tar
55
took categories of nonfoods representing the bulk of expenditures on
nonfoods. These were tobacco products, fuel and light, clothing,
imported cloth and transport. Within each of these categories, we found
one item which was the most important. These were cigarettes, kerosene,
jongs (a local term used for clothing), imported cloth, and lorry rides.
For these items it turned out that transactions were predominately in
one unit, though different for different items. Average prices, by
region, for these specific commodities in the specific unit were taken
to represent prices for the particular group. These prices were combined
into a nonfoods purchase price by weighting them by the proportion of
value of regional nonfood purchases represented by purchases on all
items in the group. The purchase and sales prices were then combined,
again using proportion of value consumed as weight. Hence, the quantity
unit of nonfood price is a hodgepodge of different units.
Wage was taken directly from Byerlee and Spencer's earlier work.
It is expressed as Leones per hour worked for males over 15 years old.
Calculation of Production Inputs
Land is measured as total land area cropped, in acres. It includes
land in perennial as well as annual crops. It is a simple sum of acres.
No weighting to reflect different qualities (for example of swamp and
of upland lands) was made because no such data were available.2 For
a very few households, data on this variable were missing. , Since these
households had useable data for all other variables, they were not
2The rental markets are very thin and rental prices reflect a house-
hold's standing in the community as much as the economic value of the
land (Spencer and Byerlee, 1977, pp. 21—21)).
56
not dropped. Byerlee and Spencer had classified households into many
different farm types. From the production sample of 328 households
we computed average land-labor use ratios for each farm type. Knowing
the farm type and the labor use for these households we were able to
estimate total land cropped.
Capital is measured as the value of its flow. For variable capital
this represents no problem. However, variable capital for our sample
is minuscule, mostly rice seed. Only a very little fertilizer is used
and a little machinery hired, and these were added into the total.
Since there are some values for variable capital, which is a flow, it
was necessary to convert the stock of fixed capital into the equivalent
flow in order to add the two. This raises many problems, but followed
the lead of Spencer and Byerlee (1977, p. as) . In their work they
used the formula
(4.2) K = —5-V—-_-fi
l-(1+r)
where KEannual service user cost, VEacquisition cost of capital,
nEexpected life of capital in years. In a perfect market the acquisition
cost of the asset equals the discounted sum of its annual flows. Assuming
the annual flows to be constant in real value, and assuming the flows
start in year one, we obtain equation “.2. Byerlee and Spencer use
a discount rate of .1 and expected lives that were different for different
types of capital (Spencer and Byerlee, 1977, pp. 47-48) . The types of
capital included are farm tools, animal equipment (includes fishing
equipment), nonfarm equipment, livestock and tree crops. The
r
1-(1+r)—
respectively .
coefficients used are 1/5, 1/6, 1/13, 1/3.8, and 1/30
n
Th
inc
SQV
Par.
57
Ethnic C roup
Household characteristic variables require little special comment
on their preparation save the ethnic group of the household head.
This variable was derived from two sources. For about half of the
138 households used in the analysis there was direct observation. From
these it was apparent that within an enumeration area virtually all
households were of the same ethnicity. As a check we had from the
1963 census (the 1971) census results were not available) the numbers
of people by ethnic group living in each Chiefdom (an administrative
unit that can be matched to our enumeration areas). The census was
checked to see whether the dominant ethnic group within a Chiefdom
was the same group shown by the data available from our sample. In
all cases the groups matched. For those few enumeration areas for
which there was no ethnic information from the sample, the dominant
group as reported in the census was used. There was one Loko house-
hold, from enumeration area 53, in our sample. This was grouped with
Mende households, the dominant group in the sample, because they were
the second largest group within that enumeration area. The two other
ethnic groups represented in the final sample of 138 households were
Temne and Limba .
Commodity Definitions
The commodity definitions used in the study are given (in Figure 4.1.
The groupings represent a compromise between the number of commodities
and the number of demographic variables to be used in the QES. With
seven commodities and no demographic variables there would be 20
parameters to estimate. Adding a demographic variable adds seven
58
Commodity—
Subgroup No. Components
Rice 1
Root crops and 2
other cereals
Root crops
Other cereals
Oils and Fats 3
Fish and animal It
products
Fish
Animal products
Miscellaneous 5
foods
Legumes
Vegetables
Fruits
Salt and other
condiments
Kolanut
Nonalcoholic
beverages
Alcoholic
beverages
Nonfoods 6
Household labor 7
Cassava (including gari, foofoo and cassava
bread), Yam, Water Yam, Chinese Yam, Cocoyam,
Sweet potato, Ginger, Unspecified
Benniseed, Fundi, Millet, Maize (shelled),
Sorghum, Agidi,‘ Biscuits (Natco)l
Palm oil, Palm kernel oil, Palm kernels,2 Groundnut
oil,I Coconut oil, Cocoa butter, Margarine,1
Cooking oil,‘ Unspecified)
Bonga (fresh), Bonga (dried),I Other saltwater
(fresh), Other saltwater (dried),1 Frozen fish,I
Freshwater (fresh),l Tinned fishI
Beef, Pork,1 Coats and sheep (dressed), Poultry
(dressed), Dear (dressed), Wild bird (dressed),
Bush meat (dressed), Cow milk, Milk (tinned),I
Eggs, Honey bee output, Unspecified1
Groundnuts (shelled), Blackeyed bean (shelled),
Broadbean (shelled), Pigeon pea (shelled),
Soybean (shelled), Green bean (in shell),
Unspecified (shelled)
Onions, Okra, Peppers and Chillies, Cabbage,
Eggplant, Greens, Jakato, Pumpkin, Tomato,
Tomato paste,l Watermelon, Cucumber, Egusl,
Other
Orange, Lemon, Pineapple, Banana, Plantain,
Avocado, Pawpaw, Mango, Guava, Breadfrult,
Coconut, Unspecified
Salt,I Sugar,I Maggicubes,1 UnspecifiedI
Coffee, Tela,I Soft drinks (bottled) ,1 Ginger
beer (localll
Palm wine, Raffia wine, Beer (Star and Heineken),1
Omole,1 Gin (local), Liquor (Rum, etc.)I
Cloth‘ng, Cloth, Fuel and light, Metal work,
Woodwork, Other household and personal goods,
Transport, Services and ceremonial, Education,
Local saving, Tobacco products, Miscellaneous
All farm and nonfarm production and marketing
activities (for labor demand. work on processed
agricultural products excluded), Labor sold out.
Excludes household activities such as food
preparation, child care and ceremonies
‘Commodity is not included in production figures for use in estimating
system of output supplies and labor demand either because it is only
purchased or because it is a more processed form of a commodity
already counted.
2
Not Included in consumption data but included in production data.
Figure Ll
Components of Commodities
59
parameters to be estimated and adding a variable to model the total
time available adds another parameter. One demographic variable
would probably mean using only household size but ignoring its
composition. This does not seem to be a good strategy. Yet using
more commodity groups would force some such compromise. On the
other hand, the grouping we have used involves an extremely hetero-
geneous mix for miscellaneous foods. In principle, it would have been
nice to separate legumes (mostly groundnuts) from fruits, vegetables
and the other components of miscellaneous foods. Nutritionally, legumes
are high in protein relative to the other components and also high in
calories. Root crops (largely cassava) and other cereals (mostly
sorghum) are also quite different nutritionally, especially in protein
content. Yet if we use the economic criterion of grouping close sub-
stitutes and/or close complements root crops and other cereals probably
meets that reasonably well. Rice is kept separate because it is the
most important staple and because the government does have rice
programs if not rice policies.
The other factor besides keeping the number of parameters to be
estimated to a reasonable number was keeping the number of nonconsuming
households for the groups to a very small number. In Chapter 3 we
noted that zeroes in our dependent variable cause inconsistent para-
meter estimates, with the problem being small if the number of zeroes
is small, and large if nonconsuming households are numerous. The
methods for correcting for this were seen to be quite involved and
extremely expensive. Hence we aggregated with this in mind. For
example, this was a major consideration in grouping root crops with
other cereals. Our final groupings have seven households not consuming
60
root crops and other cereals and five not consuming oils and fats.
All other groupings have no nonconsuming households. There are a
few negative observations using our grouping, mostly in the groups
for root crop and other cereals and oils and fats. These reflect errors
in our data but are left in. As noted above, large positive and negative
outliers were edited. Presumably there are also errors of overstating
consumption left in our data. However, there is no basis for knowing
which observations they are. As long as the average error is zero our
statistical estimates will be consistent, since these are errors in dependent
variables. To edit further by eliminating only the negative estimates
would risk making the average error positive, leading to inconsistent
estimates. Hence, this was not done.
Sample Characteristics
In viewing the characteristics of our sample and the results of
estimating the household-firm model it will be useful to look at not only
the sample means but also the means of households by total expenditure
groups. Governments have begun to be interested in what happens to
different income groups, particularly when they are concerned with
nutritional issues. For our purposes we divide the sample into three
groups: households spending under 350 Leones; those spending
between 350 and 750 Leones; and those spending more than 750 Leones.
To get an idea of how poor these households are note that the annual
per capita expenditures in 1974-75 U.S. dollars are $511, $88 and $136
respectively for the low, middle and high expenditure groups. For
the capital city, Freetown (which was sampled for a migration component
of the original study) when divided into three groups, the average
61
income of the middle group is $153. Hence, even our "high" expenditure
households are quite poor both when compared to urban Sierra Leone
and to other countries.
The sample characteristics of the variables appearing in the quadratic
expenditure system are reported in Table 4.1 (for a more complete statis-
tical description see Smith, Lynch, Whelan, Strauss and Baker, 1979).
Expenditures on all commodities and the value of labor supplied increase
with the expenditure group. As one can see from Table 4.2 rice com-
prises the largest average share of total expenditures for foods. The
low share of expenditures on nonfoods, .33 at the sample mean, is a
further indication of the poverty of these households. Household size
rises with the expenditure group. Children under 10 as a prOportion
of total size is smallest for low expenditure households and largest for
the middle expenditure group.
The production characteristics of these expenditure groups are
reported in Table m3. Rice is the most important crOp in value though
its importance as a proportion of total value output diminishes for the
high expenditure group. In general, value of production and of labor
demanded increases with the expenditure group. Land area cropped
does not change a great deal between expenditure groups, but value
of capital flow jumps for the high expenditure group. The reason for
this, and for the declining importance of rice for this group is the
presence of nine households from Enumeration Area (EA) 13 in this
group. These are commercial fishermen who also grow and sell a large
amount of vegetables to the Freetown market. In their production
characteristics they are quite different from the rest of the households,
62
Table 4.1
Mean Values of Consumption Related
Data by Expenditure Group1
Expenditure Grog;
Variable Low Middle High Mean
Expenditures2
Rice 58.2 125.2 262.9 146.7
Root craps a other cereals 10.7 32.4 147.4 61.3
Oils and fats 19.2 37.2 122.8 58.1
Fish and animal products 30.6 61.9 118.3 69.5
Miscellaneous foods 28.0 65.8 99.0 64.1
Nonfoods 90.0 190.1 324.0 199.9
Value of Household Labor 306.4 361.8 530.1 396.5
Prices3
Rice .25 .23 .27 .25
Root crops 8 other cereals . 36 .66 .63 .55
Oils and fats . 73 .62 .66 .67
Fish and animal products .62 .60 .39 .54
Miscellaneous foods . 56 . 58 .60 . 58
Nonfoods .62 .64 .75 .66
Household labor .08 .08 .09 .08
Household characteristics”
Total size 4.8 6.4 8.7 6.7
Members under 10 years 1.2 2.1 2.7 2.0
Members, 11-15 years . 5 .7 1.1 .8
Males over 15 years 1.7 1.8 2.6 2.1
Females over 15 years 1.4 1. 8 2.3 1.8
Proportion Limba or Temne .45 .29 .44 .39
Proportion northern .43 .25 .40 .36
Number of households 44 51 43 138
1Households in the low expenditure group are those with total expendi-
ture less than 350 Leones. Households in the middle expenditure group are
those with total expenditure between 350 and 750 Leones. Households in the
high expenditure group are those with total expenditure greater
than 750 Leones.
2
In Leones. One Leone = U.S. $1.1 in 1974/75.
3Weighted average of sales and purchase prices. In Leones per
kilogram for foods and per hour of male equivalent for labor.
llI n numbers.
a5
Div
1 CH
‘
9“!
\I .3
UI'II
a
QC-
all
,-
d
a
a?“
"“1
g.
63
Table 4.2
Actual Average Total Expenditure Shares
Ry Expenditure Group
Commodity . Echnditure Group_
Low Middle High Mean
Rice .25 .24 .24 .24
Root crops and .05 .06. .14 .10
other cereals
Oils and fats .08 .07 .11 ' .10
Fish and .13 .12 .11 .12
animal products
Miscellaneous .12 .13 .09 .11
foods
Nonfoods .38 .37 .30 .33
64
Table 4.3
Mean Values of Production Related
Data by Expenditure Group
Expenditure Group
Variable Low Middle High Mean
Value of Production1
Rice 202.3 238.6 368.4 267.5
Root crops 5 other cereals 9.5 38.7 142.5 61.8
Oils and fats 39.7 93.9 162.9 98.1
Fish and animal products 9.6 26.2 198.1 74.5
Miscellaneous foods 25.5 54.5 145.3 73.5
Nonfoods 12.8 25.0 50.9 29.2
Value of Labor demand 293.8 373.5 572.4 410.0
Prices2
Rice .22 .20 .23 .22
Root craps 6 other cereals .14 . 12 .19 .15
Oils and fats .46 .39 .36 .41
Fish and animal products . 53 .54 .39 .49
Miscellaneous foods .27 .28 .28 .28
Nonfoods 1.18 1.29 1.50 1.32
Labor .08 .08 .09 .08
Household Characteristics
Cultivated land3 5.8 6.9 6.5 6.4
Capital“ 34.5 34.0 78.7 48.1
Proportion in EA 13 0.00 .02 .21 .07
1In Leones. Valued by weighted sales prices.
2Weighted sales prices. In Leones per kilogram for foods and per
3In acres.
“Annual flow in Leones.
hour of male equivalent for labor.
as will be cc
characterist
mterial as
holds and tl
than the otl
more capital
with the pri
Table 4
and the dif
EXCEpt for l
more than c
PurChases 1
high EXpen
middle EXp¢
are net figl
Se" labof' il
theise tWo ‘
Fina"y
"Dre than
three MUS
ml) of r00
and animal
65
as will be confirmed in Chapter 7 (this is not so true of their consumption
characteristics). Indeed, it is useful to present in Table 4.4 the same
material as in 4.3 only grouping households by the ten EA 13 house-
holds and the rest. The fishing households cultivate much less land
than the other households (1.6 to 6.8 acres), but have considerably
more capital in the form of boats and the like. Prices are also different
with the price of fish and animal products being considerably lower.
Table 4.5 presents the quantities of production, total consumption
and the difference, net marketed surplus, by expenditure group.
Except for rice the high expenditure group tends to sell more or buy
more than do lower expenditure groups. The only groups for which net
purchases from the market are made are nonfoods, labor for middle and
high expenditure groups and fish and animal products for low and
middle expenditure groups. We have to remember, however, that these
are net figures. A household may hire labor during peak season and
sell labor in the offpeak season. The figures reported here combine
these two transactions.
Finally, and not surprisingly, households specialize in production
more than in consumption. Using our commodity definitions we have
three households which do not produce rice, 19 which have no produc—
tion of root crops and other cereals, 24 for oils and fats, 35 for fish
and animal products, 12 for miscellaneous foods, and 59 for nonfoods.
The relatively large number of zero outputs gives rise to statistical
problems of the sort explored for the demand side in Chapter 3. These
will be given much more detailed treatment in Chapter 7.
66
Table 4.4
Mean Values of Production Related Data by
EA 13—Non-EA 13 Households
Variable EA 13 Non-EA 13
Value of Production1
Rice 62. 7 283. 5
Root crOps 6 other cereals 27.9 64.4
Oils and fats 20.6 104.2
Fish and animal products 733.5 23.0
Miscellaneous foods 331.8 53. 3
Nonfoods 82 . 8 25. 0
Value of Labor demand 954. 7 36 7. 5
Prices2
Rice . 19 . 22
Root crops 6 other cereals .25 . 14
Oils and fats .37 .41
Fish and animal products .17 .52
Miscellaneous foods .15 .29
Nonfoods 2.23 1.25
Labor . 15 .08
Household Characteristics
Cultivated land3 1.6 6.8
Capital‘l 214.3 35.1
1
In Leones. Valued by weighted sales prices.
2Weighted sales prices. In Leones per kilogram for foods and per
hour of male equivalent for labor.
3In acres.
l“Annual flow in Leones.
67
Table 4.5
Quantities1 Produced, Consumed, and
Marketed by Expenditure Group
Expenditure
Commodity Group Produced Consumed Marketed
Rice Low 902.8 232.8 670.0
Middle 1,164.3 544.3 620.0
High 1,622.2 973.7 648.5
Mean 1,227.5 586.8 640.7
Root crops Low 69.0 29.7 39.3
and Middle 335. 8 49.1 286. 7
other cereals High 744.6 194.9 549. 7
Mean 422.1 111.5 310.6
Oils and fats Low 85.5 26.3 59.2
Middle 242.0 60.0 182.0
High 447.2 186.1 261.1
Mean 242.2 86.7 155. 5
Fish and Low 18.0 49.4 -31.4
animal Middle 48.3 103.2 —54.9
products High 508. 7 303.3 205.4
Mean 151.5 128.7 22.8
Miscellaneous Low 93.0 50.0 43.0
foods Middle 191.3 113.4 77. 9
High 515.3 165.0 350.3
Mean 262.3 110.5 151.8
Nonfoods Low 10.8 145.2 -134.4
Middle 19.4 297.0 -277.6
High 33.9 432.0 -398.1
Mean 22.1 302.9 -280.8
Labor2 Low 3,963.8 3,800.3 163.5
Middle 4,286.7 4,425.1 —138.4
High 5,687.8 6,141.4 —453.6
Mean 4,670.2 4,829 7 -159.5
1
2
In kilograms for foods, hours for labor.
Produced and Consumed correspond to supply and demand.
68
Caloric Availability
Having determined the quantities available for consumption from home
production and from market purchases, nutrient availabilities may be
calculated by using conversion rates available from food composition
tables. This was done by William Whelan using FAO prepared food
balance sheets specific to Africa (FAO, 1968) . For this purpose, quan-
tities purchased and available from home production were added without
value weights for each of the 128 foods in our data. The nutritional
composition of foods consumed from each source was thus assumed to
be identical. The conversion into nutrients accounted for the inedible
portion of each food (using figures available from the food composition
tables). What was derived then was nutrients available for each food
at the farm gate or retail level, taking out the inedible portion. Left
in, however, is whatever part of the edible portion is wasted by the
household before ingestion. This will vary vastly by household and
by food. The FAO, in its calculations, assumes this to average ten
percent (FAO, 1973, pp. 87-8).
Table 4.6 reports total caloric availability expressed per capita per
day, and its sources by our five food groups for each of the expenditure
groups. For this purpose caloric availability by food was summed into
the five food groups and then totaled. Not surprisingly, caloric
availability increases dramatically with expenditure group, particularly
between the low and middle groups. The sample mean of 2109 cal/cap/day
compares to an estimated availability of 2090 cal/cap/day computed by
FAO from food balance sheets for the entire country (including urban
areas) for a 1972-74 average and a 1975-77 average (FAO, 1980, pp. A41).
ProportiOl
Calories f
Rice
Root crop
Oils and 1
Fish and .
Miscellane
TOtal calo
\
69
Table 4.6
Calorie Availability and Its Components
by Food Group by Expenditure Group
Proportion of Exp_enditure Grog;
cal°ries "W" Low Middle High Mean
Rice .44 .45 .43 .44
Root crops 6 other cereals . 17 . 17 .15 . 16
Oils and fats .12 .12 .20 .16
Fish and animal products .17 .10 .10 .11
Miscellaneous foods .11 . 15 .11 .12
Total calories per cap per day 1, 188 2,132 2,608 2,109
70
The availability calculated from food balance sheets does cover urban
as well as rural areas. It is formed by taking production, subtracting
net exports, seed, feed, waste (storage and marketing), and net
change of storage. The remaining figures are converted into units
sold at retail level by further adjusting for processing. The FAO food
balance sheet availability figures are comparable to ours, and so is
their caloric availability figure (which also accounts for the inedible
portion; FAO, 1972, p. 45).
The low availability figure for the low expenditure group is not
unusual when compared to other budget studies. For example, a study
conducted by the Vargas Foundation in Brazil, using 1960 data, found
the lowest income decile having a caloric availability of some 1400 cal/cap/day
(reported in Reutlinger and Selowsky, 1976, p. 11).
The availability figures can be compared to "requirements" per cap
per day (the amount needed to maintain body weight with moderate
activity) as computed for Sierra Leone by FAO (1980, p. A41). This
"requirement" figure of 2300 calories per cap per day must not be taken
too literally. It is computed using sex and age composition figures for
Sierra Leone, and assuming an average weight for age. By further
assuming that activity levels are "normal" (comparable to a reference
adult in the United States), requirements figures by age group can be
obtained and weighted to obtain a national requirements figure. This
figure is directly comparable to the food balance sheets availability
figures. it has built into it an allowance of ten percent for waste of
edible portion between retail level and ingestion (FAO, 1972, p. 45).
Hence, it is also comparable to the figures in Table 4.6. Three factors
should be noted when comparing the figures. First, the availability
71
figures are averages within the expenditure group. Hence, some in
each group may have availability greater than 2300 calories per cap
per day. Even for a household the figure is an average over a year.
Secondly, the requirements may be interpreted as an average also.
Sukhatme (1977) offers an estimate of 400 calories as the standard devia-
tion, part of the variation being between persons and part being
intra-individual (over time). We might subtract one standard devia-
tion from the requirements and use that as an estimate of the "require-
ments" for the population, with average activity levels. However, as
both Sukhatme (1977) and Srinivasan (1981) point out, even this pro-
cedure risks misclassifying household groups because of the usual
type I and type II statistical errors. Thirdly, substitution is possible
between food intake and activity levels. The FAO Ad Hoc Expert
Committee recommended using 1.5 times the Basal Metabolic Rate
(calories expended under resting, fasting conditions) as the energy
cost of maintenance with minimal activity. For children who are growing
it will need to be higher (FAO, 1973, pp. 36-7) . Caloric availability
below this amount would likely result in persons being underweight.
Basal metabolic rates vary by individuals and over time. The energy
cost of maintenance will vary even more due to its inclusion of even
minimal activity levels. The only figures available on BMRs are from
measurements at one laboratory in Boston over a 15 period (FAO, 1973,
p. 107) . Those figures are by weight and sex. If we take the
"reference man" of 65 kilograms and the "reference woman" of 55 kilo—
grams and average their BMRs this is 1588 calories/cap/day. Taking
1.5 times this and subtracting 20 percent of that to account for variation
72
in BMRs, to arrive at a conservative estimate of daily maintenance
requirements (see FAO, 1974, p. 49) we arrive at roughly 1900 calories
per cay per day. However, the "reference" weights of 65 kilograms
and 55 kilograms, derived from U.S. data, are probably high for our
sample. Then the daily maintenance requirement figure should be even
lower. Using 55 and 45 kilograms as reference weights for men and
women and repeating the calculation we obtain 1735 calories per cap
per day. Even without adjusting for lower weights, we need to average
the 1900 with a requirements figure for children of different ages. For
young children, even allowing for growth, these requirements are less
than 1900 calories per day, so the population requirements figure
corresponding to 1.5 x BMR will be lower than 1900. However, the
mean availability for the low expenditure group is substantially below
1900 calories. In any case, we know that undernutrition is the major
nutritional problem in Sierra Leone. UCLA (1978), in a national
survey using anthropometric data, found that some 30 percent of
children under five years are underweight (less than 80 percent of
the standard weight for age). Information on pregnant and lactating
women confirmed the undernutrition problem. Hence, it is not sur-
prising to find Indications of undernutrition for low expenditure
households in our data, even if the extent of it may be overstated.
CHAPTER 5
CHOOSING DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES:
SINGLE EQUATION SHARE REGRESSIONS
Introduction
The Quadratic Expenditure System with seven commodities and
k household characteristic variables will have (3+k) 7-2 parameters
(excluding the total time parameters). Each demographic variable adds
seven parameters to be estimated. The more the parameters the more
iterations will be required for the computer to converge to a maximum
likelihood solution and the greater the expense per iteration. Expense
both in computer time and in research time will thus rise as the size
of the problem increases. Having decided upon using the QES for
estimation and believing that to use less than seven commodities,
meaning five food groups, will result in too much aggregation for the
research problem at hand, we must economize on the number of demo-
graphic variables we utilize. In principle, there are many such variables
which might be included and for which we have data. The question
arises, how should we choose between them?
R2 and Cl? as Variable Selection Criteria
Many proposed solutions to this variable selection problem exist
in the literature. For a review one can see Hocking (1976), Gaver and
Geisel (1974) , or Amemiya (1980). Of the non-Bayesian solutions, the
only ones considered here, there is no one which dominates all others
73
74
by any of the usual statistical criteria. Hence, some arbitrariness
is involved in selecting the procedure to be used. We experimented
with two criteria, Mallow's Cp and maximum R2. Both involve a
trade-off between incurring bias in the predictions and reducing the
variance of the predictions. It is easy to show (See Theil, 1971) that
the expected variance of the error terms in an ols regression is
lowest when the correct set of independent variables is used. It is
also tr:e that R2=1- 133%; , where nE number of observations and
SST: .2 (yi-y )25 total sum of squares. This implies that minimizing d 2,
the co'l'l-iputed variance of the regression disturbances, is equivalent to
maximizing R2. It is also true that R2 will be increased only if the
F-statistic for the variable(s) being removed is less than one. It turns
out (See Hocking, p. 17) that this condition is a necessary one for the
mean squared error of prediction to be lowered. That is, now assume
we use only a subset of the "true" variables influencing our dependent
variable. Then a necessary condition to lower the prediction mean square
error (variance plus bias squared) is that the F-statistic of the variable(s)
dropped be less than one.
Assume again that we know which variables are the true set. If
we take the expected sum of squared prediction errors of a particular
estimator of our dependent variable conditional on the values of our
independent variables, and divide by the true regression variance we
have the formula for Mallow's C statistic. Algebraically, we have
T E(RSS) p
7“ i221 (yf E(yi Hz): 7 -T+2p, where RSS: residual sum of squares
and p: number of regressors used in the estimate yi. Substituting the
estimated RSS from the p-variable regression and o 2 from the regression
using the complete set of independent variables, we have our statistic.
75
It turns out that Cp will be lowered if the F-statistic of the variable(s)
dropped is less than two. This then is a more restrictive criterion
than maximizing R2. It also is true (See Hocking, p. 18) that Cp
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84
several of the "best subset" regressions showed no major changes in
coefficients except for the ethnic dummy coefficient. That is, the
other coefficients were generally within one standard deviation of
the estimates using the corrected data. The mistake was corrected
before obtaining the system estimates.
At least one of the ethnic dummy variables (head of household
being Limba or Temne) is selected in seven out of ten equations. For
the cassava, groundnut and salt and other condiments equations the
coefficients are similar in magnitude, suggesting that these variables
could be combined into one. The infants and young children variables
do moderately well, being selected in four out of ten equations. In
two of these, for fresh fish and for salt and other condiments, their
magnitudes are similar. Also, for the regressions using the full set of
variables available for each equation (not shown here) the magnitudes
are similar for several other regressions. Only for rice are they
markedly different. The other variables each appear in three out of
ten equations. Children aged ll-lS and adults between 16 and 65 years
have similar coefficient magnitudes in the fresh fish and salt and other
condiments equations. The household size coefficient has different
interpretations depending upon which other composition variables appear
with it. In the dried fish equation“, in which it appears alone, the
coefficient reflects the effects of changes in total household size on
the predicted share. In the fresh fish and salt and other condiments
equations all components of size except persons over 65 years appear.
In these cases the household size variable's coefficients applies to a
change in persons over 65. Dependency ratio as a single variable did
85
not consistently capture the effects of household size and age com-
position. Number of wives of the household head and age of the
household head do well in some equations.
In sum, the single equation results do not indicate clearcut choices
for demographic variables except for the ethnic dummies, with some
evidence that those two might be combined. As an alternative, we
might try a regional dummy depending on whether the household lives
in the north or south, with east combined with south. As noted the
regional and ethnic group dummies are highly correlated. If infants
and young children are combined into a second variable then it makes
sense to include household size as a third. This would allow differing
effects on consumption of persons under 10 and over 10. It would also
allow demographic effects to come solely through size and not its
composition (if the coefficients for the persons under 10 years variable
were to prove to be insignificant). If number of parameters to be
estimated in the QES were not a consideration we might add number of
wives and/or age of the household head and/or split up the under 10
years and household size variables further. Our choice of household
characteristic variables to include should not be viewed as the only
one possible. However, problem size is a consideration and a choice
has to be made. As mentioned, fewer commodities may sacrifice too
much information as may a simpler demand system.
CHAPTER 6
QUADRATIC EXPENDITURE SYSTEM ESTIMATES
Specification
We now want to estimate the Quadratic Expenditure System equations
2.1“ and 2.15 using the likelihood function given by equation 3.8. Our
final specification is dictated by our commodity classification except for
the translation parameters and for household total time. Chapter 5
explored single equation estimates for commodity shares, the major
purpose of which was to discover which household characteristic
variables were more powerful explanatory variables. From this exer-
cise the set of chosen demographic variables comprised household size,
children under 10 and either an ethnic dummy set to one if the house—-
hold was Temne or Limba (Mende is the other group), or a regional
dummy set to one if the household lived in the northern region. For
total time available to the household the variables chosen were persons
over 10, females over 15 and children aged ll-lS. Children under 10
were found not to work by Byerlee and Spencer. Wage rates were found
to differ for males over 15, females” over 15 and children aged 11-15.
Indeed, household labor supplied and labor demanded are in terms of
male equivalents. Since these three components add to persons over
10 years old, one variable needs to be dropped to avoid perfect multi-
collinearity. Males over 15 was the variable dropped.
86
87
Since adding a child under 10 also increases household size by one
the total effect of adding a child under 10 on the translation parameters
will be the sum of the children under 10 and household size coefficients.
The children under 10 coefficient may be interpreted as being the
differential effect of children under 10 from persons over 10. Likewise,
the coefficients on females over 15 years and on children aged 11-15
years show the differential effect on total time available to the house-
hold from males over 15 years.
From equation 2.111 or 2.15 we can see that the household charac-
teristic variables are multiplied by prices when they enter the QES.
An identification problem arises from our choice of demographic
variables because wage times household size equals wage times persons
over 10 plus wage times persons under 10. Hence, one of these
variables must be dropped to avoid perfect multicollinearity. We drop
the household size variable and rewrite equation 2.1“.
3 3
c— ._
‘5'” pixi ’ piCi+pi rifirnfiai‘mefih 0 71ml .,Ezi’r'r'flm”A
6 3
1:1 pk(Ck+ r51 Okrnr)-pL(CL+( 072+ 071) “2+0 7303))
7 -dk 3
’(ai’di) If pk (me1(Y1’ O71"“F’L 2: Yrmr+"+A
k—1 “ r—2
5 3 2
12:1 pk(Ck+ r:1Okrnr)—pL(CL+(O72” 71) “2+ “73"3”
where we have used the fact that n+1=7, K=q=3. It is apparent from
)
equation 6.1 that the coefficient of wage times persons over 10 (y 1-071
is identified, but not its components. Likewise, for the coefficient of
88
wage times children under 10 (o 071) (note that the effect of the
72+
ethnic dummy variable, n3, is to add Ok3 to the price coefficient Ck).
3
In consequence, total time, T: )2 Yrmr is not identified. For the major
r=1
questions in which we are interested this is not troublesome.
The final QES specifications which we estimate have seven commodities,
three translation demographic variables and three total time demographic
variables. The number of parameters is 112. That is, (3+3) 7-2+3 or 113
parameters, less one due to the identification problem. These systems
in their expenditure form were estimated using the Davidon-Fletcher-Powell
algorithm as available on the CQOPT package of numerical optimization
routines. The DFP algorithm uses first derivatives of the likelihood
function, but not second derivatives; an advantage. It is a variable
metric algorithm. This means that when forming the direction to be
searched in at iteration t, -Ht VL(B); Ht’ which is a square matrix
whose dimension is that of the parameter vector 8, varies from iteration
to iteration (V denotes a vector of first derivatives). The algorithm has
many desirable features such as necessarily converging to the optimal
point if the objective function is convex. For details, see a reference
on nonlinear programming such as Avriel (1976).
Estimation
At first estimation was attempted of a QES with demographic variables
entering through scaling. In the QES this involves raising the li scaling
parameters to the -di power (equation 2.11). As the di are not integers
this requires the lis to3be positive for the function to exist. The lis
were specified as li = )3 Oirnr' hence they had to be constrained to be
r=1
positive. Unfortunately, the OFF algorithm kept getting "stuck" on an
89
edge of the function where it was undefined (i.e., where li was almost
zero for some i and some observation) and was unable to converge to
a local optimum. Much effort was spent trying to obtain convergence,
including use of several starting values for parameters and use of
alternative algorithms. Finally, the translation specification was
chosen because it has no undefined region. Alternatively, we might
2 o. 0.
have specified the l. as Ii: II nr Ire '3n3, which is necessarily positive
and always defined since the1nrs are positive. Since we are not so
interested in comparing the translation and scaling specifications this
was not pursued.
Estimation using the translation specification was successful. Since
there was question a priori whether the disturbances on the expenditure
equations were identically distributed we took squared residuals from
these equations and regressed them on variables which the variances
were hypothesized to be proportionate to. In particular, they were
2.0..) ,
regressed on a constant and the square of fitted value (i.e., Var(€ti)=xu I.
and a constant and the square of profits (Var(eti)= 1120") . The results
of the latter were mixed, in three out of six regressions the constant
term being significant and not squared profits, and vice versa. As can
be seen from Table 6.1 squared fitted values were very significant in
five out of six regressions and significant at the .10 level in the sixth.1
Moreover, regression standard errors for the regression using squared
fitted values were uniformly lower than for the regressions using
squared profits. The error specification giving rise to this result is
1These results use residuals from estimation with the regional
dummy. The qualitative results are the same when using residuals
from the system using the ethnic group dummies.
90
Table 6.1
Regression Coefficients and Standard Errors
for Regression of Squared Unweighted and Weighted
QES Residuals on Squared Fitted Values
Squared Fitted 22
Commodity Equation Constant Value R
Rice Unweighted {657.5 .78E-1
(2,130.8) (.uSE-i) .02
Weighted . Sit -. 33E-S
(.11) (.3QE“5) .01
Root crops and Unweighted 7. 032.3 .57
other cereals (”."78- 3) (.ll‘lE-l) .55
Weighted 2-0 .11E—li
(.96) (.BBE-u) ---
Oils and fats Unweighted 1. 923- 3 .31
(875.2) (.ZZE-l) 58
Weighted 9.3 -.225—u
(2.51) (.HSE-u) ——-
Fish and Unweighted 331- ‘l .24
animal products (523- 5) (.595'1) .11
Weighted 1.1 -. ace-u
(.29) (.‘lGE-ll) .02
Miscellaneous Unweighted 1,028. ll .24
foods (59‘4-2) (.69E—1) .08
Weighted 1.9 -.125— 3
(.35) (.sie-u) .03
Nonfoods Unweighted 5.107-1 .15
. (2,580.8) (.30E-1) .15
Weighted . su -.16E- 5
(.21) (.20E- 5) ---
1Unweighted residuals are residuals from initial unweighted QES estimates,
using regional dummy. Weighted residuals from the second stage QES estimates,
which were weighted by fitted values from the initial estimates.
2-- indicates R2 less than .005.
91
et”N(O,FtXFt) where Ft = diagonal (I piifil ). Alternatively, this
amounts to weighting each equation for observation t and good i by
1/ [piifi I. Clearly then the function is not defined for Ipi/kfil = 0.
The error specification using absolute fitted values was used and
maximum likelihood estimation tried. Unfortunately, the algorithms
kept stopping at a point at which lpififi l was nearly zero for some i
and some t, but which were clearly not local optima.2 Different
starting values for parameters were tried, unsuccessfully. It was
then decided to use for pififi the values from estimation of the expendi—
ture form equations, and to treat these as constants (in an unrestricted
maximum likelihood estimation these values will change every iteration
as parameter values, and hence fitted values, change). This is an
extention to regressions nonlinear in parameters of Amemiya's (1973b)
suggested two step procedure for the linear regression case. He showed
such two-step estimators to be consistent with a known distribution,
but not asymptotically efficient. Halbert White (1980) has shown
(theorem 2.4) that an unweighted, nonlinear least squares estimator
is a strongly consistent estimator when error terms are not identically
distributed, under some fairly weak regularity assumptions. What we
have is a system of nonlinear seemingly unrelated regressions. Since
estimating such equations jointly affects only efficiency, not consistency
(assuming no misspecification), White's result is applicable to our first
round estimators. In particular, our estimates of fitted values are
consistent. That, in turn, means our second stage estimates are
2Eigenvalues of the information matrix were used to check for
optimality. At the function maximum these should all be positive.
92
consistent. These estimates are not unrestricted maximum likelihood
and so are presumably not asymptotically efficient. Conditional on the
first round estimates of fitted values they are mle and /T (E-B)
should be asymptotically distributed as N(O,¥_Tm(l/T)-1), with the
information matrix calculated treating Ft as being fixed.
The second stage conditional maximum likelihood estimates were
obtained with resulting parameters and their asymptotic standard errors
shown in Table 6.2.
Regularity conditions were tested by computing eigenvalues of the
Slutsky substitution matrix. The substitution matrix was computed as
3X.c lap. | _ 2 8X? I8p.+;(FaXF /8(p T+ 17+A) where )2? represents
l j du—O l j j i L j
fitted value so that the matrix will be symmetric as imposed by the QES.
For the system using the regional dummy regularity conditions held at
113 out of 138 sample points as against none when using the ethnic
group dummy. The reason for the latter failure was a small negative
(i.e., -.2) compensated own price elasticity for labor supply. The
other compensated own elasticities were of the expected signs.
Using the regional dummy, twenty-two out of forty-two parameters
have the absolute value of their coefficients greater than 1.96 times
their standard errors, twenty-six have absolute values of coefficients
more than 1.65 times their standard errors, and thirty have standard
errors less than their coefficients' absolute value. The heteroskedasticity
problem has nearly disappeared. Table 6.1 shows a significant constant
term and insignificant coefficient for squared fitted values on four out
of six regressions of squared weighted residuals on those variables.
For one regression both constant and squared fitted value are significant
and for the other the constant term is significant and the squared fitted
value term borderline.
93
Table 5. 2
Coefficients and Asymptotic Standard Errors
0‘ Quadratic Expenditure Systems
Type of dummy variable 8:310:11 M
Parameter Coefficient‘ Standard Error2 Coefficient1 Standard Errorz
C‘ 159.1 79.0 167.0 53.2
C2 52.5 15.5 150.5 19.0
CI 12.2 23.3 ~125.5 51.3
C. 9 3 21 9 10 9 15 5
C5 5 5 13 9 10.7 29 l
C‘ I SI 5 ~1,907.I 595 7
C7 -1,522.3 500.5 -1,309.3 1,579.5
11 7 3 15 0 5.7 10 7
012 51 5 23.5 5 5 15 5
T” 215.0 73.1 102.1 52.2
021 -9.5 5.5 50.2 3.5
’22 25 9 5.5 I 0 9 0
:23 -30.5 25.2 153.9 25.5
331 - 5 5 0 -1.3 5 5
a” 11 I 5.5 5 9 7 5
:3] I71 19 9 19.5 15 7
0" -3 7 2.9 -1 9 1 9
7.2 11 0 5.3 1 5 2 9
a" -5 2 19.9 15 2 151
35‘ 5 5 3.2 5 1 2 5
a” 32.0 5.5 22.3 5.5
a” 20.5 20.2 -27.5 21.5
1" ~1I 5 5 2 —27.2 22 5
:52 50 I 13 2 25.0 35 5
J” 37 7 37.9 97 1 115 5
Cum." -20.5 103.9 395.5 205.0
on 452.1 371.1 -2,129.3 993.5
1‘ a" 1,555.5 m.) 2,17s.s 150.9
12 -l,537.3 152.5 -1,I51.5 229.7
y) 1,117.7 157.7 4,525.5 251.5
a‘ .23152 .35E 1 .5535ZE~1 .20E--1
52 -1505 1 .11E 1 .13175 .52E-1
a1 -.250!-2 JOE-1 .I20255E-1 .95E-2
a. .1099” .21! l .15795E l .90E-2
.5 .792E-1 .2i-1 -.2092E—2 .17E-1
5‘ .259252 .“E-l 1.0055 .505-1
6‘ .23150 .JSE-l .55360E-1 .IK’I
d2 -.150E-1 .11E 1 .13170 .52E 1
(I3 —.277‘-2 .35E-1 .520253E 1 .9IE—2
d‘ .1099!) .II-I .15801Ev1 .9E 2
:15 .7921-1 .ZIE-I -.2056£-2 .17E-1
6‘ .259253 .“E-I 1.0055 .SOE-l
Value of 1159- 3,557.7 ~3,577.1
likelihood
‘Single subscripts refer to commodity number as given in Table A.l and double to mmdity
and demographic variable numbers. Demographic variable numbers for the 3‘s are 1-h0usehold size,
2-under 10 years, 3~regional or ethnic group dummyzl if northern or Limba—Temne household.
For the We the timbers are l—over 10 years, 2—11 to 15 years, 3-females Over 15.
1Fruit information natrlx calculated from second derivatives of log—likelihood function.
94
There were a few negative fitted values for all 138 observations.
This is troublesome, but so are the solutions. We might have con-
strained fitted values to be positive in our estimation, however, judging
from the experience of estimating the unconstrained maximum likelihood
version weighting by fitted values (actually their absolute values),
we would have gotten caught on an edge of the illegal negative space.
Alternatively, we might have used a Tobit procedure (see Chapter 7),
however, this involves numerically evaluating multiple integrals, a
very expensive procedure which would have necessitated aggregating
commodities a good deal more than we did. In the raw data there are
a few zero values for expenditures, the most being seven for root crops
and other cereals, and some small negative values reflecting either errors
in the data or net withdrawal from storage over the year.
A series of Wald tests were run on different hypotheses and are
reported in Table 6.3. First we test Ho:ai-ci,vi=1, . . ., 6 (which
since )2, 3.: 7;, Ci=1). If this null hypothesis is true
7 . .
I=1 i=1
the QES simplifies into a linear expenditure system. The value of the
implies a7=C
statistic, which is asymptotically distributed as a chi-square variable
with six degrees of freedom, is 19.0. This is significant at somewhat
less than the .005 level; hence we can reject the hypothesis that we
should have estimated a linear expenditure system. It may be that for
individual commodities the hypothesis that ai=di is not rejected. In fact,
this is true for miscellaneous foods and for nonfoods. The standardized
normal statistics for testing ai:di are 1.2 and 0.1 respectively. The
statistic for fish and animal products is 1.6 corresponding to a probability
value of roughly . 15. Miscellaneous foods and nonfoods are more highly
95
Table 6.3
Chi-Square Statistics from Wald Tests
1
Test of Statistic Degrees of Freedom
1. LES as special case of QES 19.0
2. Household size coefficients 29.1
3. Children under 10 years 70.1 7
coefficients
11. Equality with opposite signs 100.1 6
of household size and children
under 10 coefficients
5. Price coefficients 38.9
6. Ethnic group dummy 50.1
coefficients
7. Equality with opposite signs 18.1 7
of price and ethnic group
dummy coefficients
1From QES with regional dummy.
96
aggregated commodities, hence, linear expenditure curves for them are
not implausible. The coefficients on household size, which represent
the effect of a unit change in persons over 10 on the commodity specific
translation parameters, are jointly significant as are the coefficients
for children under 10. Hence, children under 10 affect the translation
parameters in a way different from household members over 10. Since
the total effect of children under 10 on translation parameters is the
sum of their coefficients plus household size coefficients, it is interesting
to test whether the sum of these is jointly significantly different from
zero. As can be seen, the statistic is 100.1 which with six degrees of
freedom is highly significant. The price coefficients, the Ci's, are
jointly significant as are the regional coefficients. This means that the
price coefficients for southern households (for which the dummy is
zero) are significant and significantly different from the price coefficients
for northern households. Since the price coefficients for the latter are
the sum of the southern price coefficients and the dummy coefficients
we test whether this sum is jointly significantly different from zero,
which it turns out to be at between the .025 and the .01 levels.
Expenditure Shares and
Frice Elasticities
Marginal total expenditure, marginal total income, price elasticities
of demand and marginal effects of household characteristic variables
are functions, using the QES, not only of parameters but also of data.
Hence, one has to choose at which sample points to evaluate these. We
have chosen to divide the sample into three groups based on total
expenditure for this purpose. The dividing lines chosen are less than
350 Leones annual expenditure, between 350 and 750 Leones inclusive,
97
and greater than 750 Leones (a Leone was worth U.S.$1.1 in 19711] 75) .
The sample sizes for these groups are 1111, 51 and 113 respectively. The
main justification for such a division is that many observers are con-
cerned with responses of people in different income groups, particularly
the lower ones.
One can see from Table 11.1 that the lower expenditure group faces
relatively lower prices for root crops and other cereals and nonfoods,
but higher prices for oils and fats and fish and animal products.
Shares of marginal total expenditure are reported in Table 6.5.
They are the extra shares of total expenditure spent on each commodity
due to an infinitesimal change in total expenditure. As such, they add
to one. They are derived from the marginal total income shares which
are the same only due to a change in total income (remember total expendi-
ture plus value of leisure equals total income). We can write
apin/atann) = apiX‘flapg1 pin) -a (o?
I; l-
which we solve for apixf /8( )3 piXic), the marginal total expenditure
i=1
for good i. In general, they seem to be plausible. The marginal share
p.XF)/3(p T+n) from
1 l l L
for rice declines with higher total expenditure as one would expect
although the .02 share for high expenditure households seems a little
low. The low shares for root crops and other cereals is not surprising,
though one would not have expected the marginal share to rise with
expenditure. In particular, the share is not negative at our mean
evaluation points. This is interesting because many observers have
hypothesized that cassava may be an inferior good for higher income
groups in West Africa. This may still be the case, however, since the
group, root crOps and other cereals, contains expenditures on sorghum
98
Table 6."
Shares of Marginal Total Expenditure1
by Expenditure Group
Expenditure Group
Commodity ’ Low Middle High Mean
Rice .22 .16 .02 .13
Root crOps and .03 .06 .12 .07
other cereals
Oils and fats .13 .20 .36 .23
Fish and .13 .11 .07 .11
animal products
Miscellaneous .09 .07 .011 .07
foods
Nonfood .110 .110 .39 .39
1
Partial derivative of commodity expenditure with respect to
total income divided by partial derivative of total expenditure with
respect to total income. Evaluated at expenditure group means
using QES with regional dummy.
99
roughly equal to those on cassava, and sorghum may not be an inferior
good. The marginal share for oils and fats rises sharply, perhaps too
much so, for the high expenditure group. For nonfoods the marginal
share is somewhat higher than the average share for all expenditure
groups. It is not surprising that the average share of expenditures
on foods should decrease as total expenditure increases (this is so
since estimated average share is greater than marginal share). This
is simply Engel's law.
Marginal total income shares are also reported, in Table 6.5. They
will be needed when the entire household—firm model is examined in
Chapter 8. For now we can note that the share of marginal expenditures
on leisure out of an infinitesimal change in total income is .3 at the
sample average, falling from .31 at the low expenditure group to .29
at the high expenditure group. Since total income is not identified,
we cannot compute the average share of leisure out of total income,
hence we cannot conclude how this average share is moving with rising
total income.
Uncompensated price elasticities of demand (holding profits constant)
are reported in Table 6.6. They correspond to a movement from point A
to point E in Figure 2.3. For rice the own price elasticity declines in
absolute value with expenditure group. Part, but not all, of this is
due to an income effect declining with expenditure group. This is
certainly not surprising. Root crops seem not to be price responsive.
The higher expenditure group is slightly more responsive to price,
partly due to an increasing income effect. The relative unresponsiveness
of total household labor supplied to wage rate changes (-.06 to .28) is
not really surprising since this is measuring total supply, not its
100
Table 6.5
Shares of Marginal Total Income1
by Expenditure Group
Expenditure Group
Commodity Low Middle High Mean
Rice .15 .11 .01 .09
Root crops 6 other cereals .02 .011 .09 .05
Oils and fats .09 .111 .26 . 16
Fish and animal products .09 .08 .US .07
Miscellaneous foods .06 .05 .03 05
Nonfoods .27 .27 .28 .28
Leisure .31 .31 .29 .30
1Partial derivative of commodity expenditure with respect to total
income. Evaluated at expenditure group means using QES with
regional dummy .
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102
allocation between uses. The negative sign for the low expenditure
group is due to the income effect (see below) and gives some slight
evidence for a backward bending supply curve. For other commodities,
the own price elasticities are of sizeable magnitude and except for oils
and fats they tend to decline in absolute value with higher expenditure
groups. The oils and fats exception is partly due to the income effect
increasing at higher total expenditure groups.
The cross price effects with respect to rice price are negative
except for fish and miscellaneous foods. This is not surprising due
to the large budget share of rice leading to a relatively large income
effect. The fact that this is not as true for effects with respect to
nonfood price is somewhat surprising since one would expect substitu~-
tion effects of food commodities and rice to be larger than between rice
and root crops. One can see that root crop demand is more responsive
to changes in price of rice than rice demand is to changes in price of
root crops. Since rice represents a larger budget share, its income
effect is likely to be greater.
Income compensated price elasticities of demand are reported in
Table 6.7. At the sample average and for all three expenditure group
averages the substitution matrix was negative semi-definite.
As with the uncompensated elasticities there is a tendency for
price responsiveness of rice to decline with total expenditure. All
goods are Hicks-Allen substitutes except for root crops and rice at
high expenditure levels. This is unlikely; however, the magnitude is
small, -.01. Perhaps, then, it should be interpreted as suggesting
independence. Also note that the substitution effects with respect to
103
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lull
wage are small so that the compensated wage effects are largely income
in nature, a result of changes in wage changing nominal total income as
well as real income. Also, the response of household labor supply
to wage rates, while small, does increase with expenditure group.
Part of this fact may be due to wage rates increasing slightly with
higher expenditure group.
The foregoing results were evaluated at expenditure group averages;
in particular, the regional dummy variable was also averaged. Of course,
no household head is reported as living part in the north and part in
the south. Hence, marginal budget shares and price elasticities were
calculated by expenditure level and region. The marginal budget
shares for each expenditure group are nearly identical across regions.
For own uncompensated price elasticities, the differences are small.
In general, southern households tend to be a little less price responsive
than northern households; however, the differences shrink with higher
expenditure groups and for the high expenditure group are negligible.
Since differences due to expenditure group are far greater than because
of ethnic group the latter results are not reported, although they are
available.
Changes in expenditure due to a marginal change in household
composition variables are shown inTable 6.8. These changes are
evaluated at the sample average except for the regional dummy variable
which is set to one for northern households and to zero for southern
households. One can see that the largest marginal expenditures are
for rice, nonfoods, and oils and fats (except for changes in children
under 10). For males over 15 the value of household labor supply is
105
Table 6.8
Change in Expenditure by Commodity Due to Marginal
Change in Age-Group Variables by Region1
(in Leones)
. . Age _ Males Females
Commodity Region Group Under 10 11 15 over 15 over 15
Rice North 10.1 6.8 17.6 9.2
South 9.7 7.0 18.11 9.5
Root crops North 14.3 -2.5 3.7 -1.2
and other South ".5 —2.7 3.11 -1.3
cereals
Oils North -5.9 8.7 28.9 13.2
and South -5.ll 8.11 28.0 12.8
fats
Fish and North -1.8 2.0 10. ll.
animal South -1.9 2.1 11.1 “.1
products
Miscellaneous North 10.1 —2. 5 3.0 -1. 2
foods South 10. -2.0 3.2 -1. 2
Nonfoods North 8. 7 5.6 39.2 13.0
South 8. 7 5.6 39.1 13.0
Household North 25. 5 18.1 103. 3 37.0
labor South 25.6 18.0 103. 2 37.0
1Calculated at sample averages except for regional dummy variable.
106
also affected importantly. One can see that total expenditures increase
for increases in each age, sex group. Also, region makes no real
difference. Differences due to expenditure group are larger, which
is not surprising since household characteristic variables affect expendi-
ture through an income effect when entered into the demand system by
translation. The differential effects at different expenditure levels
are available, but not reported here.
For changes of all persons the marginal changes in goods expendi-
ture less change in value of labor supplied equals zero since the sum
of goods expenditure less the value of labor supplied equals the "profits"
part of total income, which is constant. Persons under 10 do not affect
household total time, therefore, the marginal change in leisure expendi-
ture is equal to the negative of the change in value of household
labor. This is not true, however, for changes in persons over 10.
Clearly, there are many interesting results in these tables. Of
significance for development efforts is the general proposition that food
demand is reasonably responsive to price (except for root crops and
other cereals). Price as an important short run allocator of food con-
sumption and hence caloric consumption has been stressed in recent
years by such people as Mellor (1975) and Timmer (1978). Mellor has
focused on the real income effect of price, which is supported here.
However, we find own price substitution effects also to be important
contrary to previous expectations. Partly this is due to the limited
commodity disaggregation we have used (five food groups with two of
staples). These results also supply information of some importance to
the nutritional planner. For example, the negative uncompensated
107
effects on root crops with respect to rice price means that decreases
in rice consumption due to increases in rice price is not likely to be
compensated by increases in cassava consumption, rather the opposite.
Of course, in the longer run, people will shift their production and
sales patterns when confronted by relative price changes, hence the
need to estimate the production side of this household-firm model. With
even more time investment in fixed production and human capital
variables as well as changes in household size and composition will
take place but these are outside the focus of this research.
CHAPTER 7
TOBIT ESTIMATES OF OUTPUT SUPPLY
AND LABOR DEMAND EQUATIONS
Estimation with Censored Data
For estimating the system of output supply and input demand equa-
tions we begin with equation 2.18, derived from a Constant Elasticity
of Transformation—Cobb—Douglas (CET-CD) multiple output production
function. Following the discussion in Chapter 3, we add error terms
which are distributed as N(0,£) to these equations, which are in value
form. If there were no other considerations, we could obtain our
maximum likelihood estimates easily. However, we saw in Chapter ll
that for several of our six goods many households have no production.
In particular, for production of nonfoods, oils and fats and fish and
animal products this is so. If it is physically possible for households
to produce these goods then the first order conditions from the maxi-
mization of profits subject to the production function are the Kuhn—Tucker
conditions.
BC BC.
- < — _ :: '1‘
(7.1) pi u—axi _ 0, Xi(pi uaxi) 0 ll, . . ., n
- _ BU < _ _ m _
p| u—Bl _ 0, LT ( pI u—,\ ) _ o
650, uG=0
108
109
Assume no technical inefficiencies, so that (320, and assume that labor
BC
is always demanded, which is true for our sample, so that pL+ L15:— = 0.
pi < -L)G/3Xi
Then b—L - m , Vi. The right hand snde IS the recuprocal of the
marginal product of labor in producing good i. We have then that the
value of marginal product of labor for good i is less than or equal to
the price of labor. When this holds as an equality the good is produced
and when it is an inequality the good is not produced.
This is the deterministic situation. Randomness can be accounted
for in two ways. One can append error terms to the Kuhn-Tucker
first order conditions. This was done for a system of demand equations
by Wales and Woodland (1979) . Doing this, and again assuming that
labor is always demanded, we obtain
as as- 8:; .a_<_s_>
(7'2) piaTT'+pL§3<“i' ELaxi+ LiaLT‘(""’i
C+EG=0
The distribution of the transformed error terms will be normal if the
original error terms were. The likelihood functions may then be derived.
They will involve messy Jacobians of the transformation from the trans-
BG 3 G
formed error terms 8i 3E} - e L '57—" ,
corresponding to goods produced by the household in question.
EC into the Xi's for c's
Alternatively, one can add error terms directly to the reduced form
of output supply and input demand equations, as done for a demand
system by Wales and Woodland (1978) . This is akin to the Tobit model
*=g(x, B) + e , y=max(0,y*), where y* is not observed but y is. If
emN(0,02) then E(y) = E(y/y>0) ° P(y> 0) + E(yly=0) - P(y=0), where
E(-) is the expectations operator and P(-) is probability. Of course,
E(y/y=0)=o so E(y) = E(y/y>Ol - P(y >0). E(y/y> 0) = g(X.B) + E(e/y>0l
HO
and from Johnson and Kotz (1970) we have E(e: /y>0) = E(E le> —g(x,8 ))
= E(e Iii-9%)) =of(g(x, B)/o)/F(g(x,8 )lo), where f(-) is the
standard normal density and F(-) is the standard normal distribution
function. In particular, E(e /y> 0) 1: 0 so that regression using only
observations with positive y's leads to inconsistent parameter estimates.
This last implies that the mean of the disturbances using all observations
on y,E(e ly >0) - P(y> 0) is also not zero, hence these OLS parameter
estimates are inconsistent also. For the linear in parameters model
Greene (1931) has shown E(é OLS) = e Hie/o), so that the lower
the probability of a positive observation the greater is the bias. What
is happening in this model is that the entire normal distribution of e
is not being observed. The lower tail in which e< -g(x, 8 ), corresponding
to y=0, is piled up at -g(x, B) , providing we observe y when it is equal
to zero. This is so because we observe y, not y*. If y is not observed
when it is zero, the distribution of e is simply cut off or truncated at
c: —g(x. B). The former situation (y observed), which we have in our
data, is called censored data; the latter is called truncated data.
The foregoing applied to a single equation model. The output
supply and input demand equations are a system but the same model is
applicable. In this case a is an n+1 vector with covariance matrix 2.
Also, there exist cross equation parameter restrictions, for instance
that c is the same in all equations. The system can be estimated con-
sistently using maximum likelihood techniques. The likelihood function is
(7.3) L=Il It( 8, Z) H|t(B,Z) Illt(8,£) . . . II “(8,2)
0 1 2 K
where number subscripts correspond to the number of zero outputs and
lt(B , Z) is the appropriate density for household t. For households
which produce all goods
Ill
-(n+1)
2
(7.4) “(3,2) =(2'n) 12.)”; exp {—&€{52-1€t}
For households producing all but one good
-(n+1)
2
gfi(X,B)
(7.5) lt(8,2) = f (2w)
-1 ..1 E’p
lzl‘fexp {—%k'.yl2 ( Ildy
P Y
where the ith good, put in the last position here, is not produced and
Ep are residuals for produced goods. For households producing all
but two goods
-(n+1)
(7.6) |t(B.Z) = f f ’ (2n)
-oo --m
I —1 Ep
\ y2/
For households producing all but K goods the density ft(x, B) has the
same form with the number of integrals equal to K, the number of goods
not produced. In our data there are many households not producing one
or two goods and a few households not producing as many as four goods.
For these households the corresponding density involves evaluating a
quadruple integral. This is not only extremely messy to program, but
quite expensive to compute as well. Indeed, Wales and Woodland used
only three commodities, one of which was always consumed, in their
two papers.
One way around this difficulty would be to aggregate to, say, three
outputs plus labor. Since one output is always produced and labor always
demanded, this would involve at most double integrals, which would still
be expensive, but perhaps manageable. An alternative not involving
more aggregation is to assume 2, the covariance matrix of e, to have
112
zeroes in certain places. lf )3 were block diagonal then the multivariate
density would be a product of densities of the outputs (and input)
corresponding to each block. This would reduce the dimension of the
multiple integrals to be evaluated. In the extreme case of assuming
independence between each of the error terms, It( 8 , 2) would be the
product of 7—K normal densities and K standard normal distribution
functions. If K outputs were not produced, only a single integral
would have to be evaluated, but one for each of the normal distribution
functions corresponding to the K outputs not produced. However,
evaluating a single integral K times is a much less costly and less
difficult procedure than evaluating a K~dimension integral once. Although
one need not go so far as assuming independence between all of the error
terms, to choose which error terms are correlated in such a way as to
result in block diagonal ity for 2 would seem to involve as much arbitrariness
as assuming complete independence. Since the latter results in a con—
siderably simpler estimation procedure, it was chosen.
It should be noted that one reason why this would be an unreasonable
assumption for a demand system does not hold for output supplies and
input demands. As we have seen for the demand side expenditures on
goods plus value of household leisure equals total income, resulting in
error terms summing to zero. Hence, the covariance matrix is singular,
which it could not be if it were diagonal. However, this is not true for
the values of output supply less value of input demand. On the other
hand, one can argue that the probability of producing rice conditional
on the household not producing any other commodity but demanding
labor is not equal to the unconditional probability of producing rice.
Clearly, in this case, the conditional probability is one, but the
113
unconditional probability is not. Yet, independence of the error terms
implies these probabilities are equal. Still, assuming independence does
make the computation problem manageable. Moreover, ignoring cross-equa—
tion restrictions, maximum likelihood estimates assuming independence
retain their consistency even if the assumption is violated. Hence, the
assumption remains attractive statistically. All that would be sacrificed
is asymptotic efficiency. The likelihood function to be maximized is thus
(7.7) L =n[.n 7} f(gtilBl/o i) .n_ Fi-gtjfiill oil]
t IEP l geNP
where f(-) is the standard normal density and F(-) the standard normal
distribution function, P corresponds to goods produced, NP to goods
not produced, and t to households. Taking the log-likelihood function,
the first derivatives with respect to the jth element of B is
39 -(B) 39
(7.8) g'é‘iL =2; if? a“ _3—t£;T_/O'2 -zt kiNPf(gtk/Ok)§—B-:—ISI(okF(-gtk/ok))
The first derivative with respect to Cl is
BlnL i l 2
(7.9) 50—1— = E; ( 0.3 - a ) + 2:: f(gti/Ojlgtlel/loi F(-gti/oj))
jeP ’ jeNP
These partial derivatives are used in the maximization procedure.
To justify use of the multivariate Tobit model one has to be convinced
that there is positive probability of producing non-produced outputs.
Looking at the data, many of the zero outputs are spread throughout all
regions. That is, some households within an enumeration area will be
producers and others not. In these cases, there is evidently no environ-
mental reason why the particular good cannot be produced. There do
exist some cases in which the zero observations are clustered geographically
llll
so that none of the particular output is produced by our sample of 138
in a particular enumeration area. This occurs for root crops and other
cereals in EA 72, for oils and fats in EAs 52 and S3, for fish and
animal products in EAs 32 and 72, and for nonfoods in EA 72. To get a
better idea of whether there exist environmental constraints on produc-
tion of those goods in these enumeration areas, the larger sample of 328
households for which production data were considered reliable by
Byerlee and Spencer we examined. In all cases except for oils and fats
in EAs 52 and S3, and fish and animal products in EA 72, there was
some production of the good in question. For EAs 52 and 53, the 1970/71
Agricultural Survey of Sierra Leone showed that oils and fats were
indeed produced in the Bombali areas in question. For EA 72 the Agri—
cultural Survey indicated that game was captured. Since fish and
animal products includes wild game, it was concluded that it was possible
to produce this "good" in the area in question.
Another potential problem in using the Tobit model is misspecification
of the production function. Instead of separability of all outputs and
all inputs in the implicit production function, it can be argued that there
are separate production functions for some outputs, perhaps for nonfoods,
oils and fats and fish and animal products. As an example, one might
hypothesize nonfood production as a function of nonfood labor and non-
food capital. With capital fixed either a Cobb-Douglas or a CES function
implies zero supply of output if there is no capital. Hence, if households
have no nonfood capital, the probability of producing nonfood output is
zero. This approach runs into severe data problems with our sample.
For example, there are households reporting no capital or labor use for
fishing and animal product activities, yet reporting positive outputs.
115
Many households reporting zero production of nonfoods report positive
labor use to produce nonfoods. When inputs are aggregated, as we
have done, into total labor, total capital and total land, there is a
greater chance than for using disaggregated inputs that such errors
cancel each other out.
Another advantage in the CET—CD specification is that the supply
of any output is a function of all output prices. A separate production
function for nonfood, if it did not include land as an input would make
nonfood supply a function of only nonfood price, wage and nonfood
capital. This is a result of assuming labor can be freely sold and pur-
chased, so that labor supply to the firm is not fixed.
For dependent variables, outputs and labor demanded, errors in data
are not a serious statistical problem. For a single equation Tobit model
suppose one observes ye=max(0,ye*), where ye*=y*+v, v being an error
term uncorrelated with a. This implies some reported zero production
was really positive and vice versa. Then the likelihood function is
2 2 2 2
I _
[Ila-J f(ngHou) :1”) F(-g(B)/ou), where Cu - at: + o v and Os: and 0v
are not separately identified. However, 8 is identified.
Variable Selection
Variable selection is largely specified by choice of outputs, inputs
and production function. It bearswrepeating here that land is not
adjusted for quality as labor and capital flows are. The rental market
for land is too small and influenced importantly by nonmarket factors
such as whether the household is a member of the community or not
(Spencer and Byerlee, 1977, pp. 21-23) to be used to adjust acreage
for quality. No other data bearing on this question were available.
116
Acreage disaggregated by crop use was available but there may be
different quality lands within each crop use. Moreover, the same data
problems which exist for disaggregated capital exist for disaggregated
land use. There is some room for variable selection after the outputs,
inputs and production function have been specified providing one
hypothesizes parameters of the production function to be a function
of other variables. In production function analysis this has a time
honored tradition when using cross-section, time series data (see
Mundlak, 1961) as firm and time effects. This amounts to using shift
dummies corresponding to firm or time when estimating the production
function. More recently Mundlak (1980) has made slope parameters
functions of certain variables. From their work studying production
and labor use using the larger production sample of 328 households,
Byerlee and Spencer concluded that one could group households by the
two large regions, north and south, the same grouping which was used
when estimating the quadratic expenditure system. Fitting completely
different production functions for each region would reduce both sample
size and price variation. If one could assume that the overall functions
are the same but that certain parameters differ by region, then advan—
tage may be taken of pooling the regions in estimation. Suppose one
lets the shift parameter of the CET-CD production function vary by
region. As we saw in Chapter 2, this function requires normalization
by either the 6i parameters summing to one or the shift parameter
being unity. We have chosen the latter method. However, let A0=a0 +310,
where Dsdummy variable. Dividing both sides of equation 2 by A0 gives
the normalization which we use of the shift dummy equaling one. Now,
117
however, the (S i's are each divided by A0 and the new coefficient will
take on different values for each region. The coefficients thus derived
6 iI(ao+alD) are a bit cumbersome. A simpler way to achieve this result
and to maintain the normalization that A0=1 is to make each 5i depend
linearly on the dummy variable 6 =6i + (SHD. This introduces n new
0 0
parameters rather than just one, where n is the number of outputs.
However, it presumably allows somewhat more flexibility. In principle,
all the coefficients might be allowed to vary with region. However, to
keep matters simpler, only the equivalent to a shift dummy was permitted.
One other set of coefficients might in principle be allowed. These
follow from the censored nature of the data. Notice from equation 2.18
that the deterministic output supplies and input demands are necessarily
non-negative due to their multiplicative nature. Thus, gti(B) 2 O, Vt,i
resulting in P(yti >0)=P(s:ti> —gti(B))Z . 5. In principle, however, one
would want the probability of a positive output to be allowed to vary
between zero and one. One way to accomplish this would be to write
yti = gum) + pi + Eti’ where ui is a constant to be estimated. This
would add an additional seven parameters to be estimated and so was not
done. However, in future work it might be tried. One reason excluding
these parameters might not be detrimental to our results is that when
evaluated at the sample average for independent variables F(gi(g) I; i)
is an estimator of the sample proportion with positive production of
good i, which is always over half of our sample.
Estimates of Small CET-CD
System in Value Form
With six outputs plus labor demand, the Constant Elasticity of
Transformation-Cobb—Douglas production function has ten parameters,
118
sixteen when the dummy variable is included, plus seven variances
(which, because of the cross equation parameter restrictions and the
Tobit estimation procedure, cannot be concentrated out of the likeli—
hood function), a total of twenty-three parameters. Initial attempts
at numerical maximum likelihood estimation ran into trouble. As a
result, estimation of a smaller system was attempted. The smaller
system had two fewer outputs, oils and fats and fish and animal pro-
ducts being aggregated with miscellaneous foods. The justification for
this aggregation was that these were the two foods with the most zero
outputs and the aggregation left the enlarged miscellaneous foods group
with only two households having zero outputs. Maximum likelihood
estimates of the seventeen parameters in the smaller system are shown
in Table 7.1. Of the twelve parameters excluding the variances only
four have asymptotic standard errors less than half the absolute values
of their coefficients. In particular, all the 6i parameters, the (Sios and
the ons, have standard errors larger than their coefficients' absolute
values. A Wald test of the joint significance of the four <5i1 parameters
(associated with the regional dummy variable) gives a chi-square statistic
of .08, abysmally low. Examining the residuals showed particularly
high residuals for miscellaneous food output and labor demand for the
ten households in enumeration area 13. Those households live in the
coastal area near Freetown, the capital city. Their main production
activities are fishing and growing vegetables. Indeed, most of the
households are large commercial fishing households. Viewing production
activities, they are possibly the most distinct set of households. In view
of this, the regional dummy variable was redefined to be one for those
ten households and zero for all others.
119
Table 7.1
Coefficients and Asymptotic Standard Errors
of Aggregated CET-CD Systems1
Type of Dummy North-South EA 13-Non-EA 13
Variable: 2 . . Standarf . . Standard
m Coeff1c1ent Error Coeff1c1ent Error
610 .31E-S .13E-11 .125-1 .111112-2
<5" -.13£-s .525-5 -.19£-2 .61E—2
620 .11915—5 .2015-11 .11511 12.3
1521 1.53 13.2 —.1133 12.3
630 .952-11 .31E-3 .282E—1 .955—2
631 .36E-ll .18E—3 -.2611£-1 .87E-2
6110 195, 25.9 5.2E+5 2.05 1.0
6“ -29,612.s 1.SE+6 -1.119 .811
c 11.66 1.5 1.56 .111
SD .311 .8E-I .15 .06
q, .16 .613-1 .26 .05
a .112 .35—1 .1111 .02
of 115,655.11 6.0E+3 58,793.5 1.1E+11
0% 113,838.6 5.6E+_3 62,908.13 1.0E+11
o; 186,273.0 2.1E+11 1118,926.2 1.2E+S
oi 15,216.11 2.11£+3 15,190.51 2.5E+3
o: 106,912.11 1.3E+11 611,388.3 1.0E+11
Value of ~3, 7111.9 ‘ -3,6711.6
log-likeli-
hood function
1Estimated in value form.
2N umbered subscripts refer to commodity number and to type of
variable, 0 for constant and I for dummy. Commodity numbers are
I-rice, 2-root crops and other cereals, 3—miscellaneous foods (including
fish and animal products and oils and fats), n-nonfoods, S-labor demand.
3From information matrix calculated from second derivatives of
log-likelihood function.
120
The smaller system was re-estimated with results also shown in
Table 7.1. The log-likelihood value is roughly 66 higher than that for
the system estimated with the north—south regional dummy. This is a
very large difference. Eight of the twelve production function para-
meters have coefficients' absolute values more than twice their standard
error and for nine this ratio is higher than 1.65 (corresponding to a
.1 significance level for a two way test using standard normal tables).
A Wald test of the joint significance of the (Si coefficients gives a
1
statistic of 11.6 which corresponds to a probability level of roughly
.02. For the 6 i0 coefficients, the Wald test statistic is 12.9, a prob-
ability level of approximately .011. The residuals for the Enumeration
Area 13 households are now much lower, which is reflected in the sub-
stantially higher log-likelihood value.
Estimates of Larger CET-CD
System in VaTue Form
Having now seemingly good estimates from the system of four outputs
and one variable input, we returned to the larger system of six outputs
and labor demand. It was decided to use the dummy variable defined by
the ten EA 13 households. In principle, this definition might not be
preferable to the north-south definition when estimating the larger system.
However, of the two outputs separated from miscellaneous foods, oils
and fats and fish and animal products, these ten households distinguish
themselves by their large production of fish; and of vegetables, left in
the six output miscellaneous food category (see Table 11.11). Hence, it
was felt that use of this dummy variable would continue to be preferable
to using the north-south dummy. Use of both was felt not worth the
extra expense and time involved in estimation.
121
Table 7.2 presents the results of estimation of the system of six
outputs and labor demand using a dummy separating EA 13 from other
households for the (Si parameters. The standard deviations were esti-
mated rather than the variances, because it was felt due to experience
with the smaller system that convergence might be faster. Of the six-
teen production function parameters, six have ratios of their coefficients'
abslute values to their standard errors of more than two, seven have
such ratios greater than 1.65 and eight have ratios greater than one.
For the six 5i0 parameters, three (rice, oils and fats and miscellaneous
foods) have their coefficients' absolute values greater than 1.29 times
their standard errors, and for two it is greater than 1.65. For these
parameters, a one-tailed test is apprOpriate since they are constrained
to be positive, and 1.29 and 1.65 correspond to probability levels of .1
and .05 respectively. For the 6 i1 parameters only one has its coefficient's
absolute value wore than 1.65 times its standard error (for miscellaneous
foods). For the sum 6 i0 + 6", which corresponds to 6i for the ten
0
EA 13 households, two (fish and animal products and miscellaneous foods)
have absolute values of coefficients greater than 1.29 their standard error,
and for one (miscellaneous foods) it is greater than 1.65 its standard
error. So, for the éios, the tins and their sum, some coefficients are
individually significant at the .10 level or better; however, as a group
they are not. Wald test statistics of these parameters grouped are given
in Table 7.3. With six degrees of freedom the probability value for the
largest statistic, 6.0, is greater than .30. Given that the production
function specification is Constant Elasticity of Transformation-Cobb-Douglas,
it does not make sense to drop individual 6 i0s so long as the good in ques-
tion is produced by the set of non-EA 13 households, which all are. It is
felt, for reasons given above, that keeping the dummy variables is
122
Table 7.2
Coefficients and Asymptotic Standard Errors
of CET-CD System in Value Form 1
Parameter2 Coefficient Standard Error3
510 .17E-2 .97E-3
"II .19E—1 .32E-1
420 .80E-1 .91E-1
.521 -.12E-1 .17E-1
£30 .13 .BQE-l
.531 2.2 26.11
"110 2.6298 11.7
6111 —2.6296 11.7
1550 .6uE-1 .31E-1
155] -.63E-1 .31E-1
'560 72.9 711.7
561 —-59.2 72.8
c 2.58 .24
BD .97E-1 .30E-1
1% .33 .30E-1
81. .115 .20E—1
c] 241.“ 15.6
02 226.8 111.8
1.3 199.8 13.3
a“ 183.9 15.8
115 97.2 6.3
116 121.8 9.7
0., 288.9 19.9
Value of -S,967.S
log-likelihood function
1Uses EA 13—Non-EA 13 dummy variable.
2Single subscripts refer to commodity number as given in Table 4.
Double subscripts refer to commodity number and 1 for a dummy coefficient
and 0 if not.
3From information matrix calculated from second derivatives of
log-likelihood function.
123
Table 7.3
Chi-Square Statistics From Wald Tests
Using Estimates From CET-CD
System in Value Form 1
Test of Statistic Degrees of Freedom
1. CET parameters 5.9 6
for non-EA 13
households, 15“,
2. CET dummy 11.6 6
parameters, on
3. CET parameters 11.1 6
for EA 13 households,
510 + 611
ll. Degree of almost 10.8 1
homogeneity,
BD+8K+BL.
different from one
1Using EA 13 - non—EA 13 dummy variable.
1211
worthwhile. While non-significant dummies could be dropped, kept
perhaps for fish and animal products and miscellaneous foods, re-estimation
of the value system at this point was not considered worthwhile. In addi-
tion, there are six coefficients corresponding to the ten EA households
so the fact that there is trouble in getting statistical significance for
them may not be so surprising, and yet it may be that the true values
of these 6i1 coefficients are different from zero.
The coefficient of c, 2. 58, corresponds to an elasticity of transforma-
tion between outputs of .63. The Cobb-Douglas coefficients on capital
flow, land and labor sum to .88 with a standard error of .011, hence the
sum is significantly less than one. This would indicate that the produc—
tion function is almost homogeneous of degree .88, using Lau's terminology
(see Hasenkamp, 1976).
The coefficient on land, .1, is much lower than that for either capital,
.33, or labor, .115. This is very different from the usual single agricul-
tural output Cobb-Douglas results in which land's coefficient is the
largest. Two reasons suggest themselves for this. First, some of our
outputs such as fishing and animal products, oils and fats and nonfoods
are not going to be much affected directly by land cultivated by the
household. Capital and labor are far more important inputs for these
activities. Perhaps, had the production function specification been to
allow separate functions for these activities, the coefficient on land
might have been higher for the remaining crop activities. Be that as it
may, this was not possible as a result of the data inadequacies described
earlier in this chapter. Given the output detail and function specification
used, these coefficients may not be unreasonable. A second potential
reason is the absence of any quality adjustments in defining the land
125
variable. This misspecification affects all coefficients. Had the model
been linear in parameters, however, and had increasing size of farm
been associated with lower quality land, then the estimated coefficient
for land would be lower than the true value. Whether this result
applies here, given that the model is highly nonlinear in parameters,
is not clear.
Effect of Censoring on Price Elasticities
oFOutput Quantities
Elasticities of quantity outputs with respect to both prices and fixed
2. 3E(X.)
inputs are derived as EJfYT ——37—'—, where Z is either a price or fixed
i 1
input. We have estimated value output and labor equations, but since
price is nonstochastic we can divide expected value outputs by own price
to derive expected quantity outputs. We have then
E(xti) = P(gti(B)/0 i)gti(B)/pi + oif(gti(8)/ oi)lpi. Taking the partial
derivative with respect to own price, we have
3E(X .) 9 .(8)
t1 _ 3 t1 _ 2
(7.10) T - F 3p ( . ) oif/pi
1 1 1 g .(B)
The CET—CD production function is specified so that a: ( t; ) > 0.
i i
This can be seen
.2. :1.
(711) lig"(B) 1:51 1—‘—+ GEL-1 pm (Sc-1)
° Bpi pi pi c-1 (l—BLWc-fiA i i
.9. :_‘_'
where A =2 (pf:-1 (SF-1)
i I I
The expression in parentheses simplifies to
_C._ :1. _C_ :_1_
(7.12) .C" a?” B (c—1)+(1—B ) z p?" 6?"
1 I L L lfi j j
which is positive given the convexity restrictions that c> 1 and 0< BL<1.
126
'8me
8 pi
ignoring the second term, expected quantity output responds positively
Thus, the first term in the expression for
is positive so that,
to own price. However, the second term is negative and may be larger
in absolute value than the first term.
This is a result of assuming that the disturbances attached to the
value form of the system of output supplies and input demand are homo-
skedastic. In this case, when we divide each equation by own price to
derive the equation for quantity, the error term also is divided by own
price. Consequently, if the standard error on the value equation is Oi
the standard error on the quantity equation is :17 . As price increases,
this standard error drops. The expected value of the censored distribu—
tion of quantity outputs supplied and labor demanded E(Xi), is a function
of the expected value of the unobserved uncensored distribution and of
that distribution's standard error (see page 125). Hence, increasing
price increases the mean of the uncensored distribution, gi(B). However,
the mean of the censored distribution may actually decrease if the decrease
in the variance is sufficient. This situation is pictured in Figure 7.1.
~—
L” I 1 1 l l
O 91 92 5012) E0‘1)
Figure 7.1
Effect of Price Change on
Mean of Censored Distribution
127
The own price elasticities for expected outputs for EA 13 and
non-EA 13 households are given in Table 7.11. The only positive values
are for rice in non—EA 13 households and for the sample mean, and fish
and miscellaneous foods in EA 13 households. The own price elasticity
for expected labor demand is negative in all cases. In this case, the
effect of increasing wages decreasing the variance of the uncensored
distribution associated with quantity labor demanded reinforces the effect
of decreasing the mean of the uncensored distribution.
We can ask how believable these signs and magnitudes are. It is
the author's opinion that they are not very believable, particularly in
view of the fact that they are a consequence, though not a necessary
one, of the way in which the system was estimated. Had the system
been estimated 1n quantity form, we would have 8 pi - Figi(B)/ piwi) 391 ( pi
is the constant standard error of the disturbance on the quantity
)> 0.
where mi
equation i. Given that we have constrained the deterministic production
function to allow only upward sloping supply curves (a well defined profit
function would not exist if this were not true), it does not seem unduly
restrictive to constrain the stochastic supply curves in the same way.
Testing Tobit Results
for Heteroskeda sticity
Besides this logical reason for .re-estimating the system in quantity
form, there is a potential statistical reason. When using Tobit estimation
procedures, it turns out that if the error terms are heteroskedastic then
maximum likelihood estimates which do not account for this are inconsistent,
Hurd (1979), although perhaps not by much, Arabmazar and Schmidt
(1980). Fortunately, it is possible to test for this, although with unknown
power. Let our null hypothesis be that the error terms on the value form
128
Table 7.4
Own Price Elasticities of Quantity Supply and
Labor Demand from CET-CD
System in Value FormI
Household Group
Commodity EA 13 Non-EA 13 Sample Mean
Rice -.116 .118 .27
Root Crops and -.58 -.90 -.87
Other Cereals
Oils and Fats -.90 —.511 -.69
Fish and Animal .75 —.88 -.87
Products
Miscellaneous .67 -.22 -.17
Foods
Nonfmds -016 —091 -088
Labor demand -1.81 -1.118 -1.lll
1 pi 8E(X.)
Calculated as E(Xi) 391
at household group averages.
129
of the output system are homoskedastic with variance Oi for the ith
equation. From Amemiya (1973) we have for positive observations:
2 2
(7.13) E(piXi-gi(8)) 2 0i - OIng/F
where f and F are standard normal densities and distribution functions
evaluated at gi(8) / oi. Also
(7.111) E(piXi-giifillu = Oi2(3 oiz—Boig : - g.3
1..)
iF IoiF
Now clearly,
(7.151 (pin-9516112 = isipixi—giien2 +r1i
where E(ni = 0 and
2 ll 2 2 2 2
(7.16) 1501i 1 = E((pixi-gimn -2(PiXi-Qi(Bll E(pixi-gitsn +(EipiXi-giifill 1 1
= E(piXi-giua)1"—1£(pixi-gi1611212
_ 11 3 f_ 2f f
" 201’01911‘: 0191 F(9i+°iF)
Hence, if we take our estimates of (piXi-gi)2 —o i2+ oigi {5, which are con—
sistent under the null hypothesis, and divide by the square root of E(niz),
that variable has mean zero and variance one. We can regress this
variable (again note only for positive observations) on variables which
we hypothesize the variance to be proportional to under the alternative
hypothesis. Despite the dependent variable not being normal, in large
samples the usual test statistics are asymptotically justified given that
the dependent variable is independently, identically distributed with
mean zero and finite variance, Schmidt (1976), pp. 56-60.
The question arises on what to regress our variable. Under the
alternative hypothesis the error terms on the quantity form of the output
130
system are homoskedastic. Hence, the variance for equation i in value
form is pizwiz. The expected squared residual, under the null hypothesis,
also has a term Gigi :5. Hence, a term pigi {5 may be an appropriate addi»
tion. If we add these terms as independent variables we have
2 f _ 2 f
‘7‘”) (pixi‘91(8” "‘1 + 0191? ‘ 3191 + azpigi if ani
where a1 and a2 are to be estimated. Then we should divide pi2 and
pigi ‘1: by /E(ni2) as we do the dependent variable.
This equation and an equation omitting the pigi {3 term were estimated
and are reported in Table 7.5. The standard errors of the coefficients
are computed using one as the regression standard error, because by
construction (E(n i2/E( ni2))‘} = 1. The lowest xz-statistic for testing
the joint significance of $1 and 22 is 7. 5, corresponding to a probability
level of less than .024, with two degrees of freedom. Using only the
price squared term, six out of seven coefficients are significant, the
smallest probability value of those being less than .01. Hence, what
statistical evidence can be gleaned supports the hypothesis that the
error terms attached to the value output system are not homoskedastic.
However, they do not suggest necessarily that the system in quantity
form has homoskedastic errors.
Estimates of CET-CD System
in QuantitLForm
The system of output supplies and labor demand was re-estimated in
quantity form. The commodity definitions and variables used were the
same as for the larger system estimated in value form. Parameter estimates
and their asymptotic standard errors are given in Table 7.6. Nine out of
sixteen production function parameters have absolute values of coefficients
151
Table 7.5
Results of Regression Testing lor Homoskedastic Errors
on Positive Observations of CET-CD System51
Coellicnents and Standard Errors
Standard Standard F-Sta—
Commodity System Form a Errol 32 Error tistic2
Rice Value 2,172,230. 287,243.7 ~11,457.8 1,604.4 59.51
285,697. 112,792.5 6.4
Quantity 10,207.7 9,459.1 309.6 281.4 1.2
557.2 3, 537.8 .ZE-
Root Crops and Value 659,248. 315,977.0 5,377.7 4,368.4 7.5
Other Cereals -300,609. 122,406.8 6.1
Quantity 11,013.7 5,034.0 —595.7 522.0 6.2
6,279.6 2,851.7 4.8
Oils and Fats Value 56, 504.6 69,471.4 77.4 1,430.7 8.7
60,100. 20,375.4 8.7
Quantity -187.0 7,920.3 313.8 410.4 0.1
5,203.11 3,610.7 1.11
Fish and Animal Value -71,675. 5 24,924.0 1,460.3 2,357.0 23.1
Products -58,219.5 12,228.7 22.7
Quantity 40,317. 5,986.2 -5,758.9 811.2 55.8
9, 526.8 4,126.3 5.3
Miscellaneous Value —142,488. 39,211.0 2,919.1 803.6 14.0
Foods —5,633.6 10,861.6 0.3
Quantity 3,122. 1,846.2 389.7 170.2 111.7
6,712.7 974.0 47.5
Nonfoods Value 121.2 1,517.2 781.7 237.7 29.3
4,040.6 939.0 18.5
Quantity ~3,063.8 2,158.0 746.4 518.4 2.3
-587.8 1,303.8 0.2
Labor Value 6,365.1E+3 1,694.4E+3 ~3,400.3 32.2
5,050.3E+3 900.2E+3 31.5
Quantity 12,225.11 3,559.3 -17.9 154.5 19.6
11,957.2 2,702.5 19.6
2
Test of coefficient(s) equality with zero.
For equationformsee equation 7.17. Weighted by (E(nzni, see 7.16.
152
'lable 7.6
Coefficients and Asymptotic Standard Errors
of CET-CD System in Quantity FormI
Parameter2 Coefficient Standard Error3
310 .14E—5 .96Es6
é“ .26E—2 .13E—1
(520 .96t—5 .95E 5
,2‘ .29E-4 .92E-4
.30 .16E-2 .155 .2
.531 12.7 134.8
.540 .131223E-2 .1512-2
Q11 -.131218E-2 .15E-2
5’50 .7319E-3 .60E-3
3’5] -.7307E—3 .60E—3
560 90.8 107.7
661 -78.8 108.5
c 11.25 .3
1% .69E—1 .3E-1
% .36 .29E-1
q .35 .17E-1.
(1.1] 1,008.4 63.1
1112 2,635.2 171.5
1113 512.7 34.7
01‘ 1,066.5 95.9
105 504.0 32.4
1116 88.1 . 7.3
1117 2,924.2 184.4
Value of -6,071.0
log-likelihood
function
1
Uses EA 13 - Non-EA 13 dummy variable.
2Single subscripts refer to commodity number listed in Figure 4.1.
Domle subscripts refer to commodity number and 1 for dummy
coefficient, 0 if not.
3From information matrix calculated from second derivatives of
log—likelihood function.
133
greater than their standard errors, with four having this ratio greater
than two. For the 6i parameters we again use the one-tailed test. One
parameter (for rice) is significant at a probability level less than .1
(corresponding to a standard normal statistic of greater than 1.29)
0 + 611
parameters, two have coefficient absolute values greater than 1.29 their
and two have probability levels of roughly .11. For the (Si
standard errors. Wald test statistics of the joint significance of the (Si
parameters are low as is seen in Table 7. 7. However, for the same
reasons as for the estimates from the value system the quantity system
is not re-estimated.
The coefficient c is now 4.25, corresponding to an elasticity of
transformation between outputs of .31. The production function is
almost homogeneous of degree .78, significantly less than one. The
estimate of the coefficient for land is low, as it was for the system in
value form.
Error terms corresponding to positive observations were tested for
homoskedasticity in the same way as was done for the system in value
form. Only now the alternative hypothesis is that error terms on the
quantity equations have variance oizlpiz, where cvi2 is the constant
variance on the value equations. Hence, the independent variables
used were 1/p‘2 and Qi .33—TE , both divided by /E(ni2) as given by
equation 7.16. The dependent variable was formed using gi/pi rather
than 9‘. The results, reported in Table 7.5, are mixed. For three
outputs, rice, oils and fats and nonfoods, x2 statistics jointly testing
A A
the a1 and a2 coefficients are very low. For root crops and other
cereals, the xz-statistic corresponds to a probability level of slightly
134
Table 7.7
Chi-Square Statistics From Wald Tests
Using Estimates From CET—CD System
in Quantity Form
Test of Statistics Degrees of Freedom
1. CET parameters 3.6 6
for non—EA 13
households, 6 i0
2. CET dummy 2.2 6
parameters, 6 i1
3. GET parameters 2,11 5
for EA 13 households,
610* 511
4. Degree of almost 37.6 1
homogeneity,
135
under .05. For the other equations the joint test shows very high
significance. Using only the 1/pi2 term the same four equations show
significant coefficients at .05 or better. For oils and fats the prob-
ability Ievel of the coefficient is roughly .15 and for rice and for
nonfoods it is much higher. Hence, the results of this test indicate
heteroskedasticity in some, but not all, of the equations. This is a
less than desirable result, but somewhat better than for the equations
estimated in value form. Moreover, if neither of these forms has homo-
skedastic errors, the form which does is unclear.
Output Elasticities with Respect to Prices
andFixed Inputs-Quantity Form
Price elasticities of quantity of outputs supply and labor demand are
given in Table 7.8 for EA 13 households, the remaining households and
the sample average. The elasticities are evaluated at average values for
these three groups. This is done rather than using only the sample
mean values and setting the dummy to one for EA 13 households and
to zero for the rest. The reason is that predicted quantities for EA 13
households using sample mean prices are wild. Prices faced by these
ten households, particularly for fish and animal products, are very
different (lower) than sample average prices, causing this aberrant
behavior.
. 8E(Xi) p. gilB) 8 QiIBI
p
. . J = ____.
The formula used IS again E(xi) a pj E(Xi (F(pi (”i ) 3p) ( pi I).
All the output elasticities are less than . 5. In general, the more impor—
tant the activity to the group of households, the more price responsive
it is. For EA 13 households, fish and animal products and miscellaneous
foods (remember vegetable production is important for these households),
136
_ _
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_
33mm .
2: 3.- ..Nr 2.- 2..- s..- :r :82
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S..- 2: 3.- SE 2..- o~.- if 2 5 Econ. >~.u..ne_m c. 3035 «$0....
150
The reason for the large effect for rice is that the term rises
9.221
39
substantially when computed for the low expenditure group.
The signs of the profit effects with respect to goods prices are
positive except for household labor supply. This is due to the marginal
expenditures out of total income being positive for all goods. The sign
in household labor is the opposite of the sign on household "leisure."
Since “leisure" is a normal good for these households, labor supply is
lowered as total income increases due to rising goods prices. With
respect to wage rate the signs for effects on goods are negative, for
the same reason. Profits are reduced as wage increases so expendi—
tures fall. Household labor, however, increases in this case.
Total Price Elasticities of Consumption
Having derived the profit effects we can add these to the uncompen-
sated elasticities with respect to price, which hold profit constant, to
arrive at the total price elasticities of quantities of goods demanded and
of labor supplied. These correspond to the movement from point A to
point C in Figure 2.3 and are presented in Table 8.18. The own total
price effects for commodities remain negative when profit effects are
added except for root crops and other cereals at the low expenditure
group. The fact that root crops and other cereals consumption responds
positively to own price for low expenditure households is reflective of
the lack of responsiveness of consumption to own price holding profits
constant and of the higher profit effect for these households. In the
other cases the short run responsiveness, holding profits constant, to
own price is much greater and overwhelms the profit effect. However,
the profit effect does have the interesting consequence that the total
own price elasticities for several commodities such as rice, oils and fats,
151
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152
and fish and animal products no longer dr0p in absolute value with
higher expenditure levels. Indeed, for rice the total own price
elasticity is as low for low expenditure households as for high expendi-
ture households. For root crops and other cereals, the negative
response of consumption to own price is greater for high than for
middle expenditure households. As seen in Table 6.6 this is mostly
a result of the uncompensated (profits constant) price elasticities being
higher in absolute value for the high expenditure group. Secondarily,
the profit effects are slightly higher for the middle than for the high
expenditure group. For household labor supply the response to wage
is now positive at all expenditure levels, rising to almost .4 for high
expenditure households and being roughly .25 at the sample mean. The
fact that this is still rising with higher expenditure group is due to the
classical demand substitution effects rising with expenditure as explained
in Chapter 6.
In general, the total cross price effects are positive. Negative
classical demand income effects are reversed in sign by the profit
effects. The exceptions are for root crops and other cereals and oils
and fats consumption with respect to nonfoods price, and for those two
commodities with respect to rice price for the high expenditure group
(and sample mean for root crops and other cereals). Some of the posi-
tive cross price elasticities are of large magnitude, for example, oils and
fats consumption with respect to root crops and other cereals price. How-
ever, in general the cross price responsiveness declines with higher
expenditure, as the profit effects do, and are not nearly so large when
evaluated at the sample mean. For labor supply the cross price effects
153
are negative, due to the profit effect. The cross effects with respect
to wage rate are cut substantially from the effects when profits are held
constant, but remain positive and non—negligible. Rises in the wage
rate increase total income by increasing the value of time available to
the household, but decrease total income by decreasing the profit
component. Evidently, the former effect is the dominant one because
the positive income effect, found by subtracting the income compensated
from the uncompensated elasticities, is larger in absolute value than
the negative profits effect.
Effects of Fixed Inputs
Prices are not the only exogenous variables in our household-firm
model in which we are interested. The effect of changes in household
characteristic variables on consumption was examined in Chapter 6,
Table 6.8. Since these variables do not enter into the production side
those are the total effects. On the production side, we can look at
changes in consumption due to the profit effect of changes in fixed
iiéf 85m
inputs. In elastucnty form we have X9 a" azj
, where Zi is either
I
total land acreage or value of capital flow. These elasticities are
reported in Table 8.5. The elasticities with respect to capital flow
23 H11)
32
larger for capital than for land. This is a reflection of the higher expected
are larger than those with respect to land because the term is
quantity output elasticities with respect to capital as was reported in
Chapter 7. As with the profit effects due to changes in prices, those
profit effects are larger at lower expenditure levels, and for the same
reasons. Also, they tend to be larger for commodities having larger
marginal expenditures out of total income. The magnitudes of the elas—
ticities are low, all being less than .05 at the sample mean with respect
15L!
Table 8.5
Quantity Elasticities with Respect to
Fixed Inputs1 by Expenditure Group
With Total Value of
Expenditure Respect Land Capital
Commodity Group To Cultivated Flow
Rice Low .08 .43
Middle .01 .06
High .OlE—l .OllE—1
Mean .01 . 04
Root crops Low .06 .33
and Middle .02 .08
other cereals High .01 .05
Mean .01 .06
Oils Low . 15 . 76
and Middle .0“ .23
fats High . Oil . 19
Mean .01! . 20
Fish and Low .09 .HB
animal Middle .02 . 08
products High .08E-1 .Oll
Mean .01 . 07
Miscellaneous Low .07 . 35
foods Middle .01 .05
High .OllE-l .02
Mean .01 .05
Nonfoods Low . O9 . 50
Middle .02 . 09
High .01 . 08
Mean .02 . 10
Household Low - . 03 — . 17
labor Middle ' - . 01 - . 05
High -.01 -. 05
Mean -.01 -.05
axic
x?
2.
1Calculated as J- — , where Z. is either acres of total land
3 n gii ]
cultivated or Leones of capital flow.
155
to land, and . 20 or less with respect to capital. It should be remembered
that these elasticities reflect an autonomous change in these variables.
In the longer run in which capital and total land can be varied, the
elasticities of consumption with respect to price of capital and to price
of land will not correspond to these short run figures.
Marketed Surplus Price Elasticities
We now have the total price elasticities of consumption of commodities
and of labor supply. There are many questions which can be explored
using these. One such is what happens to quantities sold or bought on
the market when price changes and households have had a chance to
adjust their production patterns as well as consumption. The response
to price of marketed surplus, which can be either positive or negative,
is an important question to governments interested in supplies to urban
areas and to other rural areas. There is a very large literature on this
both theoretical (for example, Krishna, 1962; and Dixit, 1969) and
empirical (e.g., Behrman, 1966; and Medani, 1975, 1980). A review
is provided by Newman (1977) . Some empirical studies have not had
data on consumption and production available separately. They used a
reduced form and found the marketed surplus of subsistence crops
negatively related to own price. In doing so many simplifications were
made. For example, Behrman (1966) assumed zero expenditure and
price elasticities of demand and Haessel (1975) assumed that production
was fixed. Our data permit direct derivation of the elasticities of mar-
keted surplus.
The only previous study to compute these elasticities from a struc-
tural household-firm model is Lau, Lin and Yotopoulos (1978), and they
156
used only one aggregate agricultural commodity. Let MSiE marketed
surplus includes net sales plus in kind wages paid minus in kind wages
EMSi axi 3x9
received. Then 3;- : —— - — and in elasticity form
p. 8M5. x. p. ax. x.“ p. 23x.c
(3 3) _§L .__._.1 : ...._'. _L__L ' J '
° M . ap. MS. x. 8p.
I l l I l
- c
l MSil Xi 3pj
The elasticity of marketed surplus is then a weighted difference of output
elasticities and of total price elasticities of quantities consumed. The
weights are the ratio of quantity produced to surplus, for production, and
quantity consumed to surplus, for consumption. Given our Tobit estima-
3E(X.)
tion of the production side, we use 3p in the first term. Also, the
divisor is the absolute value of marketed surplus. This is used so that
3M5.
.23—pi , that is whether production increases
i
one can easily tell the sign of
more or less than consumption.
If the sign of the elasticity is positive and the net surplus is
positive, then an increase in price will result in more being sold on the
market. If the elasticity is positive and the household is a net purchaser
(a negative surplus), then an increase in price will lead to less being
purchased on the market. A negative elasticity and a positive surplus
will lead to less being sold to the market and a negative elasticity and a
negative surplus means more will be purchased. We continue to assume
proportional sales and purchase prices.
As Krishna pointed out, the magnitudes of the own price marketed
surplus elasticities may be a good deal higher than the output elasticities
if production is very much larger than surplus. Providing the total own
price elasticities of consumption are negative, these will reinforce the
157
effect of increasing production, further increasing the marketed surplus
elasticity. Indeed, the only way in which this measure can be negative
is for the total own price elasticity to be sufficiently positive and the
ratio of consumption to marketed surplus be large enough that their
product outweighs the effect of increasing production. Given our total
price elasticities this will only be possible for root crops and other
cereals for low expenditure households.
The matrix of marketed surplus price elasticities is shown in
Table 8.6. All the own price elasticities are positive and reasonably
high. There is a tendency for the price responsiveness of marketed
surplus to decline at higher expenditure levels. In large part this is
due to the absolute value of marketed surplus, part of the denominator,
increasing with higher expenditure levels (see Table 11.5) . The high
magnitude of the own price elasticity for root crops and other cereals
for low expenditure households occurs for this reason. If absolute
changes in kilograms marketed due to a one percent increase in price
were shown they would be roughly equal for the low and middle expendi-
ture groups, rising for the high expenditure group. For household labor
the large values of the marketed surplus elasticity with respect to wage
rate are also caused by the small values of marketed surplus in the
denominator.
The cross price elasticities of-marketed surplus tend to be negative
because of the strong profit effect in the cross total price elasticity of
demand. The latter term is generally positive and often large. Since
it is subtracted, after being weighted appropriately, from a generally
small positive cross price effect on production, the difference will
usually be negative. For example, an increasing price of root crops
158
_
_ x _ . _ .
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. .Q . .Q .
u a ux 33mm x
3.: ~o.: 3.: $6: 5.: ~n.: 3..: coo:
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3.6— 3.: m~.—: ~o.~: 2W: 3..: 3.: 052.2
—=.~.~ 8.: hm.~: cm.m: 3..? mafi: -.—: 304 Lona-d
mm.—: 2..— oo.: 3.: mo. so. 2.: C35
3.- 8; .5.- 2.- 2. .5. 2.- :9:
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.593 moooccoz «boon. 3259:. Sam 22:60 .350 08¢ 9.9.0 .0 out.“—
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6:. 5:. ..5 32o 82. co“.
daoLU ocazocoaxw >9 339:5 “633.32 .0 333335 93....
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159
and other cereals will lead to a decrease in marketed surplus of oils and
fats. That is, less oils and fats will be sold to the market. Also, a
decrease in marketed surplus of nonfoods will take place. However,
since nonfoods are purchased on the market (the surplus is negative)
the decrease in marketed surplus means that more will be purchased
on the market.
Some positive cross price elasticities exist. For example, the surplus
for root crops and other cereals responds positively to all prices except
for oils and fats and the wage rate. Also, the surplus for oils and fats
responds positively to nonfoods price.
Some of the magnitudes of the cross price elasticities are fairly
large. Again this is caused by the strong profit effect on consumption.
The magnitudes do tend to fall with the higher expenditure groups, as
they do for the own price elasticities. They are not negligible, however,
so that ignoring them as most past studies have done would not seem to
be a good idea.
Effects of Prices and Expenditure
on Calorie Availability
This study is concerned ultimately with determinants of food con-
sumption. This can be further translated into effects of prices and
other variables in our model on availability to the household of different
nutrients. Of greatest interest to development economists recently is
caloric availability. Sukhatme's (1970) work indicating that sufficient
caloric intake is usually accompanied by sufficient protein intake and
caloric deficiencies with protein deficiencies is partly responsible for
this attitude. More germaine to this study, Kolasa's (1979) summary
of existing information based on anthropometric data concerning the
160
nutrItional situation in Sierra Leone found that chronic malnutrition
(underweight for age) was the principal nutritional problem of children
aged 0-5 years (the only population group for which a good deal of
information was available). The little evidence which exists for other
groups, principally pregnant and lactating women, also suggests that
being underweight is the major problem. In view of these findings,
only the impact on calories will be examined here, although one can
in principle use our results to examine the impact of socio-economic
variables on many nutrients.
5 ax?
We want to calculate gcal = z a“: -.a-—' , where calEcalories and
pi H 8Xi pi 9' acaI
1—5 are our food groups. In elasticity form we want —-|’- 8 -
1 5 acal piaxf ca pj
EaT i351 3X? 3 P] The second term may be derived easily from
Tables 6.6 and 8.11, the tables of price elasticities. We calculate effects
on calories of price changes both when profits are constant and when
they are variable. The difference will point out clearly the effect of
allowing families to adjust their production patterns. In addition, the
results from holding profits constant will be useful since they correspond
to a short run situation which might be found at times.
Tables 8.7 and 8.8 report the effect on availcability in kilograms of
infinitesimal percentage change in prices, 8155;“. . They are of some
interest in themselves because they show that Jthe absolutemagnitudes
of changes in quantities of goods available caused by a change in the
own price rises for higher expenditure groups. This result is expected,
but different than for elasticities, which when profits were constant,
declined with higher expenditure group. The absolute quantity changes
due to cross price effects rise with expenditure group when profits are
held constant, but profit effects result in many absolute changes
capo” _am _
. 8.0 033. com. memo... oaocm ocagpcooxo an a an Ooaa_3u_mu~
161
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55%
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162
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decreasing for higher expenditure groups. Since most of the cross
effects are positive when profits are allowed to vary it is not clear
a priori what the net effects of price changes on caloric availability
will be. What is clear from Table 8.8 is that when profits vary the
negative own price effects are larger in absolute magnitude for the
high expenditure group but the positive cross effects are sometimes
smaller for this group.
We now need the conversion from kilograms of our five food groups
into calories, 219%. In Chapter ll we saw that these were available for
each of our 1288Xf'oods from food composition tables. We now add up the
calories available for each household from each of the foods into the
five food groups, by first multiplying those conversion ratios by the
sum of consumption out of home production and consumption from pur~~
chases. These are then summed over households. These numerators
are then divided by the total quantity consumed of each of the five
foods again summed over households; where quantity is defined as total
value of consumption as defined in Chapter ll, divided by group price.
These group quantities are then weighted sums of quantities in straight
kilograms. The weights are the ratio of the sales or purchase price of
an individual food (depending on whether it was purchased or not) to
the consumption price of the group. This weight will, of course, vary
by the eight agro—climatic regions to which prices correspond. The
numerator, calorie availability, will also vary by household, because
the components consumed within each food group vary. In other words,
from a nutritional perspective, the aggregated commodity groups correspond
to different commodities depending on the region and on the household.
Heretofore, we have assumed that the commodities were identical for all
16l~l
households. For our previous economic analysis this last assumption
makes sense. Now, however, it does not. Since we want to apply the
caloric conversions to low, middle and high expenditure household
groups separately, we calculate separate conversions for each group.
The conversions may differ between groups for two reasons. First, the
weights in calculating quantities for the denominator differ by region,
particularly for root crops and other cereals (see Table 8.2). Second,
the proportion of calories available for each food group from each of
its components will differ by expenditure group. If we want to ask
what would the effect be of price changes on caloric availability for a
"typical" low expenditure household in our sample, it makes sense to use
caloric conversions specific to that group.
Caloric conversion rates are reported in Table 8.9. The magnitudes
for rice and for oils and fats do not require explanation, but the rest
do. Comparing these rates to rates available for disaggregated foods
in food composition tables shows large differences. For root crops and
other cereals, cassava was assumed to have 1490 calories per kilogram
and sorghum, 3420. These are the two major components of this group,
yet both their calorie conversion rates are substantially below the sample
mean group rate of 7506 calories per kilogram. The reason for this is
as follows. The numerator in our calculation is the best estimate of
actual calories available for our sample from the particular group. If
we had divided this by the simple sum of kilograms consumed of the
components of the root crops and other cereals group (e.g. , kilograms
of cassava plus kilograms of sorghum, etc.) the conversion rate would
look reasonable. It would then be a weighted average of food composition
conversion rates, with weights being the proportion of unweighted group
165
Tabie 8.9
Calorie Conversion Rates of Food Groups1
by Expenditure Group
Expenditure Group
Food Low Middle High Mean
Rice 3,759.1 3,848.6 3,664.6 3,743.3
Root crops 8,679.4 10,270.6 5,956.1 7,505.6
and other cereals
Oils and fats 9,909.1 9, 241.1 9,001.0 9,143.6
Fish and 5,647.3 3, 770.1 2,485.2 3,196.4
animal products
Miscellaneous 2,430.2 5,184.5 4,748.9 4,430.7
foods
1In calories per kilogram of weighted quantity.
166
quantities for each component. For root crops and other cereals the
dominant quantity weight is for cassava. Over 300 kilos per household
of cassava is consumed by our sample while only about 50 kilos of
sorghum are consumed. However, in deriving weighted quantities, the
large quantity of cassava, most of which comes from home production,
is multiplied by the ratio of cassava sales price to group consumption
price. We saw earlier that this price ratio is very small in general.
While the sorghum quantities are multiplied by ratios which are generally
a little greater than one, those quantities are not large. The result is
that weighted quantity of root crops and other cereals is much smaller
than unweighted quantity. Hence, the large calorie conversion rate.
Since the quantity units used in our model are weighted quantities, it
makes sense to use calorie conversion rates which are in terms of the
same weighted quantities.
Elasticities of caloric availability with respect to total expenditure
are reported in Table 8.10. Total expenditure, as opposed to total
income, is endogenous in our model, but those results should still be
of interest. Elasticities with respect to total income cannot be computed
from our model estimates since total income is not statistically identified,
see Chapter 6, nor are actual estimates available without making further
assumptions about the variable for total time available. The magnitudes
are around .85 with little variation between expenditure groups. That
the elasticity for the high expenditure group is slightly higher than for
the low expenditure group is due to the marginal total expenditure share
on oils and fats, an important contributor of calories, rising with higher
expenditure group. This apparently offsets the declining total expendi-
ture share on rice. The elasticity magnitudes we report compare to a
167
Table 8.10
Elasticities of Calorie Availability with
Respect to Total Expenditure1
by Expenditure Group
Expenditure Group
Low Middle High Mean
.85 .83 .93 .86
aE(x.°) aE(p.x?)
1 TEXP BCal I I I
Calculated as Cal 2 c BTEXP (see Table 6.4 for W ).
70Xi
168
range of . 15 to .30 used by Reutlinger and Selowsky (1976). They
believed . 15 and .3 to be the bounds on the calorie elasticity with
respect to income. This belief was based largely on a set of cross-country
regressions on per capita GNP of national calorie availability per capita
(as computed from food balance sheets). The regressions were run
separately for developing countries by region. Four functional specifi—
cations were used, three of which imposed a declining elasticity with
higher income. When one calculates the calorie income elasticities using
their equations for Africa and using a per capita GNP of U.S. $101, the
per capita total expenditure in our sample, they range from .04 to .07
(Reutlinger and Selowsky, 1976, pp. 71-74). Possible sources of the
different estimates are numerous. First, Reutlinger and Selowsky only
had access to aggregate national data. For Africa these data are par-
ticularly weak. The variation in per capita GNP in their sample of 37
African countries is quite likely less than in total expenditure (or more
properly the profits component of total income) for our sample of 138
households. Furthermore, our models are very different, to suit the
different data available to each. In particular, we include price and
demographic variables which they are unable to include. Finally, the
marginal expenditure share on foods for our sample is very high at .61.
Indeed, it may be higher than that for the average African country of
U.S. $101 per capita, since the latter includes urban households which
may have a lower marginal expenditure share on foods than a rural
household of comparable income.
Our estimates of the total expenditure elasticity of calorie availability
compare much better to those of Pinstrup-Anderson and Caicedo (1978) .
They estimate Engel curves from cross section household data in Colombia
169
and find a calorie elasticity with respect to income of over .5 ranging
to over .6 for low income households.
Tables 8.11 and 8.12 report calorie elasticities with respect to
prices with profits held constant and allowed to vary. In the very
short run, profits being constant, increases of commodity prices
results in decreased caloric availability, except with respect to nonfoods
price at the low expenditure group. There is no general pattern of
elasticities across expenditure group, however, the absolute change in
caloric availability often increases with higher expenditure group. For
commodity prices the largest response of caloric availability is for
changes in the price of rice, the major staple. These range from -. 58
to -.28. This is a rather large impact suggesting the short run nutri—
tional vulnerability of rural households to rice price increases.
When profits can vary the situation changes substantially. Now
most of the commodity price elasticities of calories are positive. Increasing
price may result in decreased consumption of that good, but the increase
in total income is distributed on increases in consumption of other foods,
enough so to increase total caloric availability. The exceptions to this
are for rice and oils and fats prices at all but the low expenditure group,
and for miscellaneous foods price at the high eXpenditure group. The
magnitudes of the positive elasticities are not high for the sample mean,
but some are sizable for the low expenditure group, and in general
they tend to decline with higher expenditure group. Even absolute
changes in calorie availability tend to decline with higher expenditure
group except for changes in rice, oils and fats, and labor prices. For
changes in rice and oils and fats prices, caloric availability increases
for low expenditure households, but decreases for middle and high
170
Table 8.11
Elasticities of Calorie Availability with
Respect to Price, Profits Constant
by Expenditure Group
With Respect to Expenditure
Price of; Group Change in Kilocalories2 Elasticity
Rice Low -11.9 -.58
Middle -18. 5 -. 38
High -23.2 -.28
Mean .19.] -038
Root crops Low —0. 7 -.03
and Middle —2. 1 -.04
other cereals High —5.2 -.06
Mean -2. 3 ~.05
Oils Low -1.5 —.07
and Middle —6.0 -.12
fats High -20.9 -.25
Mean -7.4 -.15
Fish and Low —3.9 -.19
animal Middle -4.0 -.08
products High —6.9 -.08
Mean -4.2 -.08
Miscellaneous Low -1. 5 —.07
foods Middle —4.4 -.09
High -6. 3 -.08
Mean 4.2 -.08
Nonfoods Low 0. 2 . 08E~1
Middle -1.1 -.02
High -1.9 -.02
Mean -0.9 -.02
Labor Low 23.0 1.12
Middle 28.0 . 57
High 36.5 .45
Mean 28.1 .56
p 8E(xc)
1 ' acal i .
Calculated as c—af :3 BXC 3p] | dn=0 at expendIture group means.
i
2Change in kilocalorie meailability due to infinitesimal percentage change
P BE(X )
in price, 75% 2 akcacI 3p i div-=0
i 8X j ’
171
Table 8.12
Elasticities of Calorie Availability with
Respect to Prices, Profits Variable1
by Expenditure Group
With Respect to Expenditure
Price of: Group Changes in Kilocalories2 Elasticity
Rice Low 3.9 . 19
Middle ~11. 7 —.24
High -16. 7 —.20
Mean -12.8 —.26
Root crops Low 8.8 .43
and Middle 6. 4 . 13
other cereals High 8.6 . 11
Mean 7. 5 .15
Oils Low 5.5 .27
and Middle -1.4 -.03
fats High -16.9 -.21
Mean ~3.0 -.06
Fish and Low 9.8 .48
animal Middle 11.5 .23
products High 3. 9 . 05
Mean 8.8 . 18
Miscellaneous Low 2. 9 . 14
foods Middle 0.6 .01
High -0.8 -.01
Mean 0.3 007E"1
Nonfoods Low 2 . 6 . 12
Middle 1. 5 .03
High 1.1 .01
Mean 1.9 .04
Labor Low 12 . 2 . 59
Middle 19.8 .40
High 27.3 .33
Mean 20.3 .41
p aEcxci
1 ' acal i . .
Calculated as c—a'l- it axe 3p] assumIng proportIonal sales and
i
purchase prices.
2Change in kilocalorie availability due to one percent change in price,
c
pl. 2 akcal aE‘Xi )
i axf 3p]
172
expenditure households, and at the sample mean. For rice price the
elasticities for the two higher expenditure groups are still sizably
negative, between -.2 and -. 25. Hence, when profit effects are accounted
for, price increases would seem to lessen the discrepancy in calories
available to the rural expenditure groups. For increases in rice price
the mechanism behind this is increased availability for very low expendi—
ture households and decreased availability for higher expenditure house-
holds. From Table 4.6 we see that the mean daily caloric availability per
capita for high expenditure households is substantially above any reasonable
level of "requirements." Although some households in this group will have
calorie availability lower than the mean, it may be that lower availability
will still allow these households to have available sufficient calories for
weight maintenance under "normal" activity levels.
APPENDIX 8A
In Chapter 8 we assumed that sales and purchase prices were propor—
tional in deriving the results of the full household-firm model. That
assumption implied that a one percent change in one price was accompanied
by the same percent change of the other price. In this appendix we
present tables showing the full household-firm effects of price on con-
sumption and on calorie availability when a constant marketing margin is
assumed. As shown in Chapter 8 this will mean for goods other than
nonfoods that a percent change in weighted consumption price is accom-
panied by a greater than one percent change in sales price (see Table 8.2) .
For nonfoods price the opposite will be true, and for wage the percent
changes will be equal since only one wage figure is used. This means
that the profit effects in "elasticities" shown in Table 8A.1 correspond to
sales price changes of greater than one infinitesimal percent. Because of
this the profit effects are generally larger, much larger with respect to
root crops and other cereals price, than under the proportionality assump-
tion. This mitigates even more the negative own price effects when profits
are held constant. As one can see from Table 8A.5, however, the signs
on the calorie elasticities are almost identical to the signs in Table 8.12,
although some of the magnitudes are quite different.
173
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178
Table 8A. 5
Elasticities of Calorie Availability with
Respect to Price, Profits Variable1
by Expenditure Group
With Respect to Expenditure
Price of Group Change in Kilocalories2 Elasticity
Rice Low 5. 5 . 27
Middle ~11.0 —.22
High ~15.6 —. 19
Mean ~12. 0 -. 24
Root crops Low 24. 0 1.17
and Middle 115. 3 . 92
other cereals High 112.2 .52
Mean 35. 5 . 71
Oils Low 9.6 .47
and Middle 1. 2 . 03
fats High -13.9 -.17
Mean -0.3 —.05E-1
Fish and Low 12. 5 .61
animal Middle 13.1 . 27
products High 11.1 . 05
Mean 10. 2 . 20
Miscellaneous Low 7. 2 . 35
foods Middle 5. 3 . 11
High 5. O . 06
Mean 5. 2 . 10
Nonfoods Low 1. u . 07
Middle 0. 2 .OllE-1
High -0.ll -.05E-1
Mean 0. 5 . 09E-1
Labor Low 12. 2 . 59
Middle 19.8 .110
High 27.3 .33
Mean 20.3 .111
p aE(x°)
1 ' acal i .
Calculated as 53+ )3 aXc 7.3]— assuming constant marketing
i
margin.
2Change in kilocalorie availability due to infinitesimal percentage change
c
31 Bkcal aflxi ’
, 2
100 i axic 3pi
in price
CHAPTER 9
POLICY AND RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS
Introduction
These results have significant implications for the development
process in Sierra Leone and for future modeling of this kind. First
we state the obvious: prices and total income do affect household
caloric availability, although the ability of the household being able to
adapt its production pattern mitigates this effect. Response by the
household in its role as a firm does make a difference. Secondly, for
the representative low expenditure household to have caloric availability
even at the level of 1900 calories per capita per day (see Chapter ll)
would require increases in income of a magnitude not likely to occur
anytime soon. With prices and household characteristics constant, an
average low expenditure household would need an increase in annual
total income of about 270 Leones to reach the availability level of 1900
calories per capita per day. This new level of total income (which we
cannot compute since the original level is unknown, see Chapter 6)
results in total expenditures being roughly 1145 Leones. That figure
is 88 percent higher than the total expenditure level of 237 Leones,
which the representative low expenditure household spends (see Table 11.1).
Assuming, optimistically, an annual growth rate in total expenditures
of three percent, it would take nearly 22 years for an average low
expenditure family to reach this point. Of course, if family size grew
179
100
as total expenditure did, which is likely, then even longer would
be needed.
Caution is needed here. Caloric availability at the household level
says little about intake of individuals. For example, one of the variables
in our model is household labor supplied, of which one part is labor
supplied by lactating women. lf, with increasing household total
income, lactating women spend more time at home breastfeeding infants,
the caloric intake of infants may increase more than suggested by total
household availability. As another example, food waste may be influenced
by variables such as total income.
Trade-Off Between Secular Growth and
Short Run Nutritional Status
The price responsiveness, especially with respect to rice, of food
availability and ultimately of calorie availability implies that there is a
trade-off to be made between long run output growth and short run
nutritional status. A secularly rising price of rice (remember this is
total rice, swamp and upland rice are combined) may lead to increased
output levels, and possibly to increased growth rates if technical
change is endogenous, but will lower caloric availability for many rural
households (assuming no other household variables change). Very low
expenditure households may enjoy some nutritional benefits from such
a rise. This implication will not change if we use the results when
assuming a constant marketing margin (see Table 8A.5) . Of course,
in the long run households may invest in more capital (some embodying
technical progress perhaps) and in more land. This would presumably
be one result of a secular rise in rice price. As shown in Table 8. 5
this will increase quantities of food availability, hence of calorie availability.
181
Whether this would offset the decreasing caloric availability due to
increasing price will depend on how much capital and land increase, about
which our results say nothing. At the sample mean the elasticity of
caloric availability with respect to quantity of capital flow is .07. This
elasticny is roughly four times lower than the calorie availability elas—
ticity with respect to rice price. However, when both change there is
an interaction effect and both elasticities will change also. Nevertheless,
it seems that capital (or a combination of capital and technical change if
the latter is capital augmenting) would have to increase more relatively
than price for there not to be a net negative effect on caloric avail-
ability for a representative rural household.
In the longer run, rice price may be lower than otherwise if produc—
tion growth has been stimulated. Distributional impacts of technical
change have long been debated. Questions of access to technology
cannot be addressed by these research results. However, differential
price effects of technical change may be addressed. Most producers in
rural areas would seem to be helped nutritionally by rice price being
lower than it otherwise might be. However, those lowest expenditure
households who are nutritionally worst off (see Table '1.6) may be hurt
unless they participate in the technical change sufficiently. In that
case the autonomous increase in total income due to the technical
change would be enough to offset the lowered caloric availability due
to a lower (than otherwise) rice price. These effects of price changes
due to technical change are somewhat different from those generally
postulated in the literature. Distributional impacts have been limited
to examining the impact on pure consumers and on pure producers.
Hayami and Herdt (19711) examine the impact on each with producers
182
selling a portion of the crop (rice) to the market. However, consumption
out of home production is assumed to be completely price inelastic and
since purchases are ignored, total consumption of rice is assumed
price inelastic. This enables them to examine the impact only on cash
income. In their model a decline in rice price reduces cash income
hence welfare, but differentially depending on the proportion marketed.
In our model total income matters, not cash income, and consumption of
rice is affected by price changes, though the decomposition of changes
on consumption of home produced versus changes in consumption of
purchased rice is not identified. Nevertheless, the price impact of
technical change can now be positive on rural rice producing households,
and is for representative households of all but the lowest expenditure
group.
Rice Self-Sufficiency Impact
on Calorie Availability
Another major policy thrust which may involve long run versus
short run trade-offs is attempting to obtain self-sufficiency in rice.
Whether this policy makes sense using static comparative advantage
criteria is not at issue here. If, however, domestic rice prices are
set above cif. Freetown plus transportation cost levels, there would
seem to be an adverse short run impact on calorie availability for all
but very low expenditure rural households (and a presumably adverse
impact on urban households also). As before this implication is insensitive
to the assumption made on the relationship between sales and purchase
prices. If, in the longer run, a higher domestic rice price is only '
temporary and promotes an increasing level (and possibly growth rate)
of rice production, then this adverse short run nutritional impact may
183
lead to a positive long run impact. Exactly what the magnitudes might
be will depend upon how much domestic prices are raised, and what
effect that has on future supplies.
Export Promotion and Relation Between Market
Orientation and Calorie Availability
A related trade policy question is to what extent to promote exports
of cash crops such as palm oil, coffee and cocoa. Some people have
argued in the past that increasing production of cash crops at the
expense of subsistence crops will adversely affect nutritional status.
These persons have argued that a reduced market orientation will
result in better nutrition. In our household-firm model marketed sur-
plus is endogenous, being simultaneously determined with production
and consumption. As an endogenous variable it is affected by many
exogenous variables. Hence, it stands to reason that one exogenous
variable will affect marketed surplus and consumption differently than
another, so that the relationship between marketed surplus and con-
sumption should not be of only one kind. For example, if we examine
oils and fats, of which palm oil is the lion's share in value of consumption
(though palm kernels are included for production), an increase in price
results in decreased calorie availability for high and middle expenditure
groups but increased availability for the low expenditure group. Mar—
keted surplus increases for all groups. Moreover, when we examine
the sources of the change, they turn out to be the opposite of the sources
which have heretofore been assumed. More, not less, is consumed of
rice and root crops and other cereals when price of oils and fats
increases (see Table 8.8). This is primarily because to the profit
effect of increasing total income. As a result, less of these foods is
184
marketed. Less, not more, oils and fats is consumed, and it is that
reduction in consumption which is the source of lowered caloric avail-
ability. Moreover, even when we look at what happens to the production
of rice and of root crops and other cereals, more is produced (see
Table 7.8), not less, when price of oils and fats increases. Land area
switched cannot be productive in the short run since it takes time to
grow palm trees. Labor can be reallocated to picking from wild trees,
but an increase in output prices raises demand for total labor, some of
which is allocated to increasing rice and root crops and other cereals
production. Even in the longer run when more land reallocation takes
place, perhaps reducing subsistence crop production, total income
increases even more and some of that will be allocated to increased
consumption of foods, increasing caloric availability.
An increase in capital flow actually decreases the marketed surplus
of oils and fats for the sample mean, and as seen from Table 8. 5 it in-
creases consumption of all foods. Alternatively, an increase in rice
price decreases marketed surplus of oils and fats for the low and middle
expenditure groups, Table 8.6, while increasing calorie availability
for the low expenditure group and decreasing it for the middle expendi—
ture group. Oils and fats consumption increases and rice consumption
decreases when rice price increases. For the low expenditure group
reduction in reliance on the market for oils and fats due to rice price
changes results in the expected increase in caloric availability, but
again for different reasons than commonly assumed. For the middle
expenditure group the "expected" relationship does not hold.
1151.»
Deriving Macro Predictions from Model Results
The above policy implications have been discussed from our estima-
tion results derived from our sample. The sample, recall, was a multi—
level random sample from most of the rural area. Our predictions of
consumption and production can be added by households in each of the
regions and converted to estimates for the population in each region,
provided we know the sampling pr0portions. This work is being done
by others as an extension of this dissertation. Converting our micro
predictions into macro predictions will enable further policy analysis
to be carried out. One example is the construction of food accounting
matrices (see McCarthy and Taylor, 1980) . These will enable easy
viewing of the effects of discrete changes of variables in our model
at the national level. Another possibility would be to estimate the caloric
gap, calories necessary to raise all households above some minimal level,
for rural Sierra Leone (see Reutlinger and Selowsky, 1976); as well as
the increases in income necessary to eliminate it. If one had a general
equilibrium model of the Sierra Leone economy one could integrate our
model with the general equilibrium model and conduct policy analysis
in that way (see Pinstrup-Anderson, de Londono, and Hoover, 1976) .
Relationship of Research to
Past Emairical Work
Our experience in formulating and estimating the household-firm
model has implications for future research in this area. First though,
it may be helpful to anchor this methodology more firmly in the existing
literature, scant as it is. Lau, Lin and Yotopoulos (1976) estimated a
profit function and input demand function using a Cobb-Douglas produc-
tion function for an aggregate agricultural output. Their data were
186
averages in each of two years of household data grouped by size of
operation in Taiwan. They then used this data to estimate a Linear
Logarithmic Expenditure System (1978) using aggregate agricultural
(in kind) and nonagricultural (in cash) commodities, and leisure, as
commodity definitions. This system assumes homogeneity of degree minus
one in the indirect utility function resulting in expenditure elasticities
with respect to total income being one for each group. They estimate
the system using seemingly__unrela‘tedlegr_e_ssiofiifii_s with cross equation
restrictions. In this case, which is not maximum likelihood estimation,
parameter estimates are not invariant to the equation not estimated.
Using both sets of estimates, they compute elasticities of marketed
surplus as well as of quantities consumed.
Barnum and Squire (1979) use a Linear Expenditure System on the
demand side with rice, a nonagricultural good and leisure as commodities
(the households practiced monoculture). They use a Cobb-Douglas pro-
duction function, which they estimate directly, for a single agricultural
commodity, on the production side. Their data were from a cross section
of households in Malaysia, exhibiting price variation only for labor. Their
procedure in obtaining the LES parameter estimates is unusual and the
statistical properties of their estimates, aside from consistency, are
unclear. Their tests, however, are certainly inapprOpriate. First,
they assume the error terms to be independent across demand equations,
which is inconsistent with the sum of expenditure being total income.
They then use ols instead of gls, in a strange way. They estimate the
system unconstrained and obtain a partial set of parameters (partial
because the others are in nonlinear form). They then construct new
independent variables by using values obtained for those parameters.
18’]
This makes the model linear in parameters, hence, easier to estimate.
These "variables" are then used to estimate the remaining parameters.
However, the parameters which they are estimating include the same
parameters which they assume values for when constructing their
”independent variables." That is, they do not partition the variables
into mutually exclusive sets as Stone did (19511), but into overlapping
sets. They then iterate until convergence. Parks (1971) showed that
the statistical properties of Stone's estimation procedure were unknown
when the covariances between equations were unaccounted for. More—
over, the covariance matrix of parameter estimates derived from the pro-
cedure is not correct because the covariances between parameters held
constant and parameters allowed to vary is not accounted for.
Singh and Squire (1978) pursue the results of Barnum and Squire.
In addition, they propose using linear programming for the production
side of the model, to extend it to multicrop households. Ahn, Singh
and Squire (1980) do so using cross section household data from South
Korea. They use six commodities including four foods: rice, barley,
other farm produce and market purchased foods. They use an LES,
using the same estimation procedure as did Barnum and Squire. Use
of linear programming on the production side allowed more easily for
commodity disaggregation on that side. Also, it easily handles the
problem of specialization since it is a deterministic model. Further,
risk can be easily incorporated into it. One disadvantage stems from
its determinateness; statistical tests cannot be performed. In addition,
one cannot get income group specific results without redoing the analysis
for representative farms from each group. Nevertheless, it is an idea
worth exploring further.
188
The empirical results from these studies are reported only at the
sample mean. Lau, Lin and Yotopoulos report an own price elasticity
of -. 72 for their agricultural commodity, profits being held constant,
and a total own price elasticity, profits being allowed to vary, of .22.
They find that marketed surplus of the agricultural good responds
positively to own price with an elasticity of about unity. The LES
studies find a very small own price elasticity for rice in both Malaysia
and Korea; -.04 and -. 18 respectively. The total own price elasticities
reported are .38 and .01 respectively. Hence, all these studies find
that for the agricultural good profit effects outweigh negative own price
effects holding profits constant. This is not generally confirmed for
our data. The magnitudes of own price elasticities found in the Malaysia
and Korean studies are much lower than we find, except for root crops
and other cereals. The Malaysian figure seems particularly low.
For Korea and Taiwan, the difference in incomes between the
farmers studied there and those studied in Sierra Leone is very large.
That higher income farmers should have smaller own price elasticities
for staples is not so surprising; indeed, it is confirmed in our results
for rice.
The existing literature estimating Quadratic Expenditure Systems
is small, because the system is relatively new. Howe, Pollak and Wales
(1979) and Pollak and Wales (1980, 1978a) use only three or four
commodities, none being labor supply. Data for households have been
aggregated into groups raising the issue of whether certain constraints
imposed at the household level hold. For example, symmetry of the
Slutsky substitution matrix holds for groups only under certain restric-
tive conditions. Also, only time series or time series-cross section data
189
have been used, except for Howe (19711) . His cross section data had no
price variation so he had to use extraneous information, on "subsistence
requirements," to identify many of his parameters.
On the production side, this is the first work to apply the Tobit
model to a multiple output production function. Heretofore, the only
method used to account for specialization was mathematical programming.
On the demand side Wales and Woodland (1978, 1979) have used the
multivariate Tobit model without assuming independent error terms, but
only for three commodities.
Future Research Possibilities
In sum, our research has shown that cross section household data
can be successfully used to estimate price as well as income relationships
of demand. This can be done using functional forms allowing for a wide
variety of behavior, and it can be done for several commodities. The
same holds true for the production side with the addition that zero
outputs can be statistically handled in a proper way, provided certain
simplifying assumptions are made. On the other hand, the numerical
maximum likelihood procedures involved in estimation are costly in both
computer and researcher time.
Much, however, remains to be explored. For the demand side of
the household-firm model one particularly interesting possibility would
be to define consumption from home production and consumption from
market purchases as separate goods, for a major staple such as rice.
Development economists sometimes hypothesize the former to be price
inelastic and the latter more price responsive. In our model the two
sources are not separable. Of course, a larger model might be tried
190
or a different specification for the system or for entering demographic
variables. Indeed, there are numerous small changes of this kind.
On the production side, two obvious possibilities exist. One is to
estimate a system with more parameters, allowing for more flexible
behavior. Alternatively, we might try Tobit estimation not assuming
independence of errors across equations for the four outputs plus
labor demand in the smaller system. This would involve at most triple
integrals (see Chapter 7) , but double and single integrals will be more
numerous.
Other future research ought to include extending the household—firm
model used here. In the first place, more can be done to make the model
operational when the recursiveness assumption does not hold; perhaps
the labor market does not exist. Specifying even simple utility functions
such as the Stone-Geary (which gives rise to the LES), results in
intractable algebra. However, one could approach the problem by
specifying a flexible form for the reduced form equations. From the
first order conditions we know which independent variables belong in
each equation (if the model is not recursive all independent variables
belong in all equations). Having specified a flexible form, one could
constrain parameters so that certain restrictions were met. The ques-
tion would be what restrictions to impose. Assuming no labor market,
expenditures on goods would add to value of production less value of
variable inputs other than labor. Zero homogeneity of consumption
demand with respect to prices would be another restriction (this is
implied by the first order conditions which would replace those in 2.2) .
Since flexible forms, even with these two restrictions involve many
191
parameters, the number of commodities in such a system would probably
have to be kept small.
In the longer run two other extensions of the model would seem to
be worth exploring, provided data were available. First, the model
might be made dynamic, either multiyear or multiseason. In this case,
demand and supply out of storage would have to be accounted for. In
a multiyear model investment in capital and land would need to fit in
the model. Second, risk might be accounted for. On the production
side, this is straightforward if one uses a programming model. On the
demand side, it is not clear how to make it operational. The theory,
using expected utility maximization, is probably not difficult to derive,
but how that could be incorporated into a demand systems framework is
unclear. Perhaps a flexible form might be a possible solution with an
added risk parameter, for instance, the Pratt-Arrow absolute coefficient
of risk aversion. However, to obtain household data for such a parameter
would be quite expensive.
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