Economic Growth and Nutrition Transition: an Empirical Analysis Comparing Demand Elasticities for Foods in China and Russia

Given the heterogeneity between Russia and China, we analyze the extent to which income growth as a major driver of nutrition transition has a significant effect on the consumption of different food aggregates. We estimate expenditure elasticities of nine different food aggregates for China and Russian, applying a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand model. Our results indicate that future income growth in China and Russia will continue to increase meat consumption. Despite being a positive signal for problems of malnutrition in China, this trend might further increase the incidence of chronic diseases with negative cost effects on public health care systems.