The influence of advertising on the pattern of food consumption in the UK

Abstract

This paper addresses the question: can firms in the food processing industry influence household diet, for better or for worse, through their advertising campaigns? This issue is investigated through the estimation of an advertising-augmented Rotterdam model for 11 broad food groupings using time series data spanning the 1969–1996 period in the UK. The econometric estimates reveal no evidence of advertising affecting the demand for food as a whole at the expense of non-food demand. There is almost no evidence of advertising affecting the product composition of any given level of total food demand.

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Martyn Duffy

Martyn Duffy teaches economics at the Manchester School of Management, UMIST. He was previously employed as a senior research officer at the London Business School, working on the macroeconometric forecasting project. He has also worked in the City. His research interests include macroeconomic issues, but his main focus of activity in recent years has been concerned with the econometric study of advertising effects in the food, drink and tobacco markets. Current research projects include a co-integration analysis of advertising and cigarette demand in the UK, recent developments in the alcoholic drinks markets and an investigation of the relationship between import prices, export prices and fluctuations in the exchange rate.