Research

Job Market Paper

Consumption of ultra-processed food and meals-away-from-home across city sizes, income strata, and rural zones in Tanzania (forthcoming, Agricultural Economics, accepted Nov. 11, 2020) (with Tom Reardon, David Tschirley, Saweda Liverpool-Tasie, Titus Awokuse, Roselyne Alphonce, Daniel Ndyetabula, and Betty Waized)

Abstract: This paper examines the patterns and determinants of household-level consumption expenditure on processed food and meals away from home. We use detailed food consumption data from Tanzania to explore the relationship between the budget share spent on more convenient foods, such as highly processed food and food away from home, and income levels. Additionally, we use (i) geo-spatial data to analyze how these relationships change over space, and (ii) detailed labor data to analyze the correlation between men’s and women’s non-farm labor force participation and the budget share spent on higher value-added foods. We find a deep penetration of processed food, even ultra-processed food, into rural areas, and this penetration is not limited to richer households. Consumption of meals away from home is greatest in the urban areas, but still present in the rural areas. Factors associated with a household’s opportunity cost of time to process and prepare food at home, such as income, women’s and men’s employment outside the home, the size of the city, and rural distance from cities, are significantly correlated with consumption of processed foods and meals away from home.

Publications

Sauer, C.M., Mason, N.M., Maredia, M.K., and Mofya-Mukuka, R. 2018. Does adopting legume-based cropping practices improve the food security of small-scale farm households? Panel survey evidence from Zambia. Food Security, 10, 1463-1478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-018-0859-3

Abstract: This study provides empirical evidence on whether and how integrating legumes into production systems affects mesaures of small-scale farm households' food availability and access. We used nationally representative household panel survey data from Zambia to estimate the differential effects on cereal-growing households of incorporating grain legumes into their farms via cereal-legume intercropping, cereal-legume rotation, and other means (such as legume monocropping). Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that with all else equal, cereal-growing small-scale farm households that integrate grain legumes into their production systems have: (1) more availability of food as measured by total production of calories and protein; (2) more income from crop production or sales; and (3) increased food access. Results suggest that cereal-legume rotation was associated with statistically significant increases in production of calories and protein by a household as well as their gross value of crop sales; it may also improve their food access. In contrast, we found little evidence of statistically significant effects of cereal-legume intercropping and other forms of legume production on household food availability and access in Zambia.

Works in Progress

Do the Poor Pay More for Food? New Evidence from Tanzania (with Tom Reardon, David Tschirley, Roselyne Alphonce, Daniel Ndyetabula, and Betty Waized)

This study revisits the titular question using detailed food consumption and spatial data from Tanzania. I first establish whether bulk discounts exist, and then I estimate whether the poor pay more than average for their food baskets. To account for differences in price due to varying levels of proximity to urban centers (for rural households) and to the size of the city (for urban households), I incorporate rich spatial variables. Furthermore, I include retail-type dummy variables to control for retail-specific variation in price. I further analyze the mechanisms through which the poor may pay more by assessing whether the poor buy more of their food in smaller quantities (thus forgoing bulk discounts) or whether the poor buy in more expensive retail outlets.

The Modernization of the Maize Flour Value Chain in Tanzania (with Tom Reardon)

I use data from a primary survey of Tanzanian processed food wholesalers and retailers to take a deep dive into the maize flour value chain. I analyze where maize flour is produced, what types of direct suppliers are used in the value chain (what is the degree of vertical integration in the value chain), and the prevalence of branded flour. I add layers of richness to the analysis by disaggregating by the size of the retailer/wholesaler and geography (e.g., the size of the town they are in and the distance from that town to the nearest secondary city). Additionally, I explore the relationship between branding, value chain finance (provision of credit and use of mobile money), product delivery, and regular relationships with direct suppliers.