An Economic Analysis of Food Consumption Pattern: A Case Study of Border Districts of Punjab

Abstract

Over the last few decades, the pattern of consumption expenditure has expanded at an unprecedented rate. Among the various indicators of human development, Per Capita Income (PCI) and food consumption are the major indicators of human development. With economic growth, there has been a rise in the PCI, and it has a significant impact on the consumption pattern by causing a change in the structure of food and non-food consumption expenditure. There has been an increase in consumption expenditure due to an increase in the per capita income, breaking up of the joint family system, increasing health consciousness of the people, desire for quality food, lack of time to prepare the food and availability of too much variety of food. Taking into consideration the above facts, an attempt has been made to analyze the average monthly food expenditure and various factors affecting the consumption of food items in rural households of border districts of Punjab. A sample of 360 households is taken from different occupational groups of rural households. A section on database and methodology follows the introductory section. Objectives of the study are defined in the third section, and the fourth section deals with the administrative structure of the border districts of Punjab followed by the section on the average monthly food expenditure and MPCE. The effect of various factors on household expenditure is given in the last section followed by a conclusion.