Year: 2026 | Month: March | Volume 71 | Issue 1
Household Food Consumption and Welfare Gains in Jammu and Kashmir: A QUAIDS and Equivalent Variation Approach
Gowher Ahmad Malik and Md. Abusaad
DOI:10.46852/0424-2513.1.2026.21
Abstract:
Household food expenditure remains a critical indicator of welfare, nutritional security, and living standards in developing economies. This study examines long-term changes in household food consumption behaviour and welfare dynamics in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir over the period 1999-2000 to 2023-24. The analysis utilizes four rounds of household-level data comprising NSSO 55th Round (1999–2000), NSSO 61st Round (2004-05), NSSO 68th Round (2011-12), and a primary household survey conducted during 2023-24. Nominal household expenditure was converted into real expenditure using harmonized Consumer Price Index (CPI) series. Food demand behaviour was estimated through the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS), while welfare gains were measured using Equivalent Variation (EV) under conditions of limited household-level price data. The findings reveal a consistent decline in food Engel elasticity from 0.527 in 1999-2000 to 0.387 in 2023-24, indicating a structural shift from subsistence-oriented food expenditure toward diversified consumption patterns. Real monthly household consumption expenditure increased from ` 9,413.1 to ` 17,528.2, reflecting substantial improvement in purchasing capacity. Equivalent Variation estimates indicate welfare gains of ` 469.3, ` 1,311.2, and ` 1,838.0 per household per month across successive survey periods, resulting in a cumulative welfare gain of ` 4,276.7 over the study period. The results suggest that rising incomes, changing consumption preferences, and improved market access have significantly enhanced household welfare. The study contributes to the literature by integrating QUAIDS-based Engel elasticity estimation with money-metric welfare measurement in a conflict-sensitive and geographically constrained region. The findings offer important policy implications for food subsidy reforms, nutritional diversification, and region-specific welfare monitoring frameworks.
Highlights
- Food Engel elasticity declined from 0.527 to 0.387, indicating long-term structural changes in household consumption behaviour.
- Real monthly household consumption expenditure increased by 86.1% between 1999–2000 and 2023–24.
- Equivalent Variation estimates show cumulative welfare gains of ` 4,276.7 per household per month over 24 years.
- The study develops a novel QUAIDS–Engel elasticity–EV framework for welfare estimation under limited price data conditions.
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