The economic question this study seeks to answer is why healthier food products are less expensive in some stores than in others and in some neighborhoods than others. The analysis builds upon the precedent of past retail food pricing studies that have been conducted in Southeastern Louisiana and in other parts of the country, by further examining disparities of retail food costs across store formats and neighborhoods with different demographic compositions. It utilizes a comparison of a general market basket of food items used in past studies and a "representative" market basket that is regionally specific to Southeastern Louisiana to see if the composition of a selected market basket of goods impacts results. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to:
1. Determine whether the cost of a market basket that is composed of more representative regional food items that meet the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) differs from that of a general market basket developed by Pennsylvania State University researchers to meet the Thrifty Food Plan menu based on the 1995 DGA.
2. Determine whether demographic characteristics of a neighborhood have an influence on the cost of a healthy market basket of foods in that neighborhood.
3. Determine whether demographic characteristics of a neighborhood have an influence on the competition of supermarkets in that neighborhood.
4. Determine whether store size, type, and competition influence the cost of a healthy market basket in Baton Rouge, LA.
The results of the study show that neither the TFP nor the 2005 DGA market basket of food items cost more, on average, at stores that are located in lower income areas in the Baton Rouge, LA, metropolitan area. The composition of the market basket including more representative, regionally-specific food items does not notably impact results. It can be concluded that food costs are significantly influenced by the management structure and store format, with chain stores and supercenters having the lowest market basket costs. A visual inspection of the distribution of large grocery stores suggests that some areas are more disadvantaged than others, especially rural areas.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-04282010-214847 |
| Date | 30 April 2010 |
| Creators | Hatzenbuehler, Patrick Lee |
| Contributors | Gillespie, Jeffrey M., O'Neil, Carol Elliot, Harrison, Robert W. |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04282010-214847/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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