The determinants of mutton consumption-at-home in urban China using an IHS double-hurdle model
Abstract
Purpose
China is not only the biggest mutton consumer, but also the top mutton importer in the world. China’s urban households are becoming the key driving force behind a surge in mutton consumption. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of mutton demand in urban China.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 32,910 urban households across six provinces and autonomous regions, an inverse hyperbolic sine (IHS) double-hurdle model is estimated, by maximum likelihood estimation, to reveal the determinants of mutton consumption-at-home.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that, first, household income has a positive effect on mutton consumption, and higher income households have a higher income elasticity; second, wet weather increases probability, but reduces conditional level and unconditional level; finally, minority group households consume more mutton than Han group households.
Practical implications
It is necessary for policymakers to develop a long-term outlook in relation to the increase of China’s mutton appetite and to shift from a domestic perspective to a global one and develop diversified import strategies. Furthermore, policymakers require to make a practicable emergency preplan for tackling short-term agglomeration of demand for mutton, attributed to festivals, and religious events of a minority ethnic group.
Originality/value
This is a major work based on a large sample of 32,910 urban households conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. This paper uses an IHS double-hurdle model to quantify the determinants of mutton consumption; it sheds light on the climatic, regional, and ethnic characteristics of mutton consumption in urban China.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions to improve the quality of this paper. In the meantime, the authors also acknowledge the financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71473251). Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.
Citation
Chen, Y., Zhu, W. and Chen, Z. (2018), "The determinants of mutton consumption-at-home in urban China using an IHS double-hurdle model", British Food Journal, Vol. 120 No. 5, pp. 952-968. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-06-2017-0337
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited