Jensen Robert T, Miller Nolan H
Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, 111 Thayer St., Providence, RI 02912, and National Bureau of Economic Research (
Am Econ Rev. 2008 Sep 1;98(4):1553-1577. doi: 10.1257/aer.98.4.1553.
This paper provides the first real-world evidence of Giffen behavior, i.e., upward sloping demand. Subsidizing the prices of dietary staples for extremely poor households in two provinces of China, we find strong evidence of Giffen behavior for rice in Hunan, and weaker evidence for wheat in Gansu. The data provide new insight into the consumption behavior of the poor, who act as though maximizing utility subject to subsistence concerns. We find that their elasticity of demand depends significantly, and nonlinearly, on the severity of their poverty. Understanding this heterogeneity is important for the effective design of welfare programs for the poor. (JEL D12, O12).
本文提供了吉芬行为（即向上倾斜的需求）的首个现实证据。通过对中国两个省份极端贫困家庭的主食价格进行补贴，我们发现湖南大米存在吉芬行为的有力证据，甘肃小麦的证据则较弱。这些数据为穷人的消费行为提供了新的见解，穷人的行为似乎是在生存担忧的约束下实现效用最大化。我们发现他们的需求弹性显著且非线性地取决于贫困的严重程度。理解这种异质性对于有效设计针对穷人的福利项目很重要。（《经济学期刊分类号》D12，O12）
