Convergence in Food Consumption between Urban and Rural Residents in China
High similarity in food consumption is the basic feature of integrated urban-rural development We respectively measure and illustrate the convergence process of food consumption amount,food consumption structure,and nutrition structure between urban and rural residents in China since the reform and opening-up policy.We further adopt the convergence model to estimate the steady states of the three convergence indicators.The results show that the gap in food consumption between urban and rural residents in China has experienced a process of first expanding and then narrowing,and the turning point occurred around 2000.There is significant convergence in the degree of convergence of food consumption between urban and rural residents,and it is predicted that in the steady state the three indicators will reach 97.5％,91.0％,and 96.7％,respectively.Residents'income level and urbanization rate have a promoting effect on the steady state,but their marginal effects are gradually weakening.Narrowing the urban-rural income gap will become the main contributing factor,in the future,for further convergence in food consumption structure.However,due to the difference in food supply system,the gap between urban and rural food consumption structure will hardly be eliminated for a long period.Future policy directions should focus on further narrowing the urban-rural income gap and improving the food supply system in rural areas,and continuously optimizing the food availability conditions of rural residents.
万方数据
维普
