Bengt Assarsson – författare

This work presents an applied econometric analysis of the demand for food in the Nordic countries. A system of demand equations, based on the neoclassical theory of consumer demand, is analyzed using modern econometric techniques for estimation and evaluation. The models investigated are mainly dynamic versions of the Almost Ideal Demand System, which was first proposed in static form by Deaton and Muellbauer. The authors have incorporated recent econometric advances in misspecification testing, allowing for a thorough investigation of the models. They construct specified demand systems that explain the historical development of the consumption of different food items in the Nordic countries. Equal attention is paid to the presentation of specific results concerning elasticities, tests, and to the description of the methodology used.

This book contains some of the results from the research project "Demand for Food in the Nordic Countries", which was initiated in 1988 by Professor Olof Bolin of the Agricultural University in Ultuna, Sweden and by Professor Karl Iohan Weckman, of the University of Helsinki, Finland. A pilot study was carried out by Bengt Assarsson, which in 1989 led to a successful application for a research grant from the NKJ (The Nordic Contact Body for Agricultural Research) through the national research councils for agricultural research in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. We are very grateful to Olof Bolin and Karl Iohan Weckman, without whom this project would not have come about, and to the national research councils in the Nordic countries for the generous financial support we have received for this project. We have received comments and suggestions from many colleagues, and this has improved our work substantially. At the start of the project a reference group was formed, consisting of Professor Olof Bolin, Professor Anders Klevmarken, Agr. lie. Gert Aage Nielsen, Professor Karl Iohan Weckman and Cando oecon. Per Halvor Vale. Gert Aage Nielsen left the group early in the project for a position in Landbanken, and was replaced by Professor Lars Otto, while Per Halvor Vale soon joined the research staff. The reference group has given us useful suggestions and encouraged us in our work. Weare very grateful to them.