Do the Poor Pay More for Food? Evidence from the United Kingdom

Does food cost more for low‐income households? This paper compares two well‐known approaches to answering this question. I find that quantity discounts for a broad range of foods are statistically significant and economically important. However quantity discounting does not lead to the poor paying more for food. I find that the poor pay less than average for the food they purchase. This is explained by the poor spending a greater share of their income on foods where quantity discounting occurs.