The demand for cheese in the United States: The role of household composition

Abstract

Cheese consumption has been expanding at a time when demand for other dairy products has remained relatively constant. To examine factors affecting this demand, a Heckman sample selection model is used to obtain at-home demand function parameter estimates for several cheese varieties. Within this model, cheese adult equivalence scales (CAES) are used to quantify the relationship between age/gender distribution of household members and cheese consumption. Significant variation in cheese adult equivalent profiles was found for the cheese types analyzed.