price elasticity

Business and Economic Research
ISSN 2162-4860
2012, Vol. 2, No. 2

A Meta-Analysis of the Price Elasticity of Meat:
Evidence of Regional Differences
Craig A. Gallet
Dept. of Economics, California State University, Sacramento
6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA, United States
Tel: [phone]

Received: July 17, 2012 doi:10.5296/ber.v2i2.2115 E-mail: [e-mail]

Accepted: July 30, 2012
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ber.v2i2.2115

Abstract
This study addresses regional differences in meat demand by estimating meta-regressions of the price elasticity of meat for North America, Europe, and Asia. Although we find many characteristics in the literature have similar impacts on the price elasticity across these regions, there are noticeable differences. For instance, the price elasticities of beef, lamb, and fish in North America are significantly more elastic compared to poultry. For Asia and
Europe, though, there are fewer significant differences in the price elasticity across meats.
Also, demand specification plays a more prominent role in determining the price elasticity of meat in Europe.
Keywords: Meat demand, Price elasticity, Meta-analysis, Regional differences
1. Introduction
Many studies estimate the price elasticity of meat utilizing various data and estimation methods, which several qualitative literature reviews, such as Kuznets (1953), Tomek (1977),
Smallwood et al. (1989), and Asche et al. (2007), suggest contribute to differences in reported elasticity estimates. Yet qualitative literature reviews can be sensitive to the subjective decision of the reviewer to emphasize particular study characteristics over others, and so meta-analysis has been increasingly used as a tool to quantitatively survey literature. In a typical meta-analysis, a parameter commonly estimated in the literature, such as the price elasticity, is regressed on a series of dummy variables controlling for study characteristics. By
utilizing

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