Estimation of Rural-Urban Expenditure and Elasticities of Food Items in Zambia: Evidence from Living Conditions Monitoring Survey

The study uses double logarithmic analysis to determine the household food demand pattern in urban and rural regions of Zambia for various stratums. The study utilized secondary data for the 2010 Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (LCMS) from Central Statistical Office (CSO), Government of Zambia. The study used a two-stage cluster sampling procedure to collect the data. Cross sectional data for 19,137 households were used in this analysis. The household size and income elasticities are estimated to explain the food consumption trends in Zambia. The results of the study indicate that all the incomes and some household size elasticities positively influenced food expenditure. The food income elasticity is the highest (0.6313) for the non-agricultural stratum in rural areas and the same is the lowest (0.2276) for high cost stratum in urban areas. Similarly, household size elasticity is the highest (0.1174) for the high cost stratum in urban areas and the same is the lowest (0.0647) for low cost stratum in urban areas. The elasticities tend to be higher in rural areas than urban ones. These differences in consumption patterns between rural and urban areas, and among stratums imply that change in consumption patterns in Zambia will be affected not only by aggregate income growth but also by changes in the distribution of that income to foster food security in the households.