Specification And Estimation Of Dynamic Demand Systems

This study of demand analysis links economic theory to empirical analysis. It demonstrates how theory can be used to specify equation systems suitable for empirical analysis, and discusses demand systems estimation using both per capita time series and household budget data.

In this testament to the distinguished career of H.S. Houthakker a number of Professor Houthakker's friends, former colleagues and former students offer essays which build upon and extend his many contributions to economics in aggregation, consumption, growth and trade. Among the many distinguished contributors are Paul Samuelson, Werner Hildenbrand, John Muellbauer and Lester Telser. The book also includes four previously unpublished papers and notes by its distinguished dedicatee.

This book contains some of the results from the research project "Demand for Food in the Nordic Countries", which was initiated in 1988 by Professor Olof Bolin of the Agricultural University in Ultuna, Sweden and by Professor Karl Iohan Weckman, of the University of Helsinki, Finland. A pilot study was carried out by Bengt Assarsson, which in 1989 led to a successful application for a research grant from the NKJ (The Nordic Contact Body for Agricultural Research) through the national research councils for agricultural research in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. We are very grateful to Olof Bolin and Karl Iohan Weckman, without whom this project would not have come about, and to the national research councils in the Nordic countries for the generous financial support we have received for this project. We have received comments and suggestions from many colleagues, and this has improved our work substantially. At the start of the project a reference group was formed, consisting of Professor Olof Bolin, Professor Anders Klevmarken, Agr. lie. Gert Aage Nielsen, Professor Karl Iohan Weckman and Cando oecon. Per Halvor Vale. Gert Aage Nielsen left the group early in the project for a position in Landbanken, and was replaced by Professor Lars Otto, while Per Halvor Vale soon joined the research staff. The reference group has given us useful suggestions and encouraged us in our work. Weare very grateful to them.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant #SES-8410190. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessari~y reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This support was crucial to the completion of this project, and we are grateful for it. As is usually the case when doing academic research, we are also indebted to a number of individuals. Robert Gillingham, John Greenlees, Jack Triplett, and Paul Harte-Chen freely gave of their time to share their ideas concerning income-based cost of living indices. Seminar participants at the BLS, the University of Karlsruhe, and Tilburg University provided insightful comments on preliminary portions of the manuscript. Bill Stober provided encouragement, and Desmond Lo and Albert Tsui read parts of the manuscript. We owe a special thanks to Bert Balk for providing detailed handwritten comments on a preliminary draft. Evelyn Buchanan and Audrey Abel did an excellent job of typing and retyping numerous drafts of the manuscript. Finally, a very warm thanks to our wives, for enduring. CONTENTS Page PREFACE PART I.

This collection of essays covers a diverse set of topics related to household behavior and welfare. Prices play a key role in several of the essays, particularly the distributional implications of price movements, and the effects of changes in relative prices on inequality and poverty. This book shows the shift in the literature on prices from being an exclusively macro topic featuring the study of inflation and cross-country comparisons to one that is firmly rooted in micro theory-based analysis of household behavior. It also includes recent developments in the poverty measurement literature, documenting the shift from the exclusively money metric and unidimensional poverty measures to multidimensional poverty encompassing a wider view of deprivation. Largely, but not exclusively, focusing on India, the book also features global comparisons of welfare. Intra country spatial comparisons along with cross country comparisons of household behavior and welfare feature in several of the essays in this book. The book also compares the effects of selected public delivery schemes in India on the health of its children. It is a useful resource for researchers and serves as reading material for advanced graduate courses on development in India and elsewhere.