Health economics and grain consumption analysis using household survey data in Mexico

This dissertation is composed of two articles in the field of health economics and one article in the field of food demand using household surveys from Mexico.;In the first article we studied the influence of demographic characteristics including location, rural or urban household, gender, education level, work status and other habits in the likelihood of an adult in Mexico to be obese using the survey from ENSANUT 2006. Our results suggest that rural areas are more susceptible to obesity problems as well as households in Northern Mexico and people with higher education level are more susceptible to obesity.;The second article modeled the health care choices that Mexican citizens make when sick or injured while taking into account the different demographic characteristics of those using each service. The three categories analyzed are a) Social Security Institutions, b) Ministry of health Institutions and other non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and c) Private health services. We hypothesize that demographic characteristics and the reason for seeking treatment impact an individual's selection of healthcare provider in Mexico. The results from the multinomial logit model emphasize the preferences for Social Security health care services, with demographic variables such as education and location playing roles in influencing their decisions.;The preferences for health care services in Mexico seem to follow a pattern where Social Security represents the most preferred followed by the private health care providers and the least preferred according to our results is the Ministry of Health.;The third article estimates the price and income elasticities for four grain products in Mexico using the National Survey of Household Incomes and Expenditures (ENIGH, 2010). We use a methodology consistent with demand system analysis, the LinQuad Model. The results from this article represent an approximation to the general analysis of grain demand in Mexico using survey data. Our model specification obtains more accurate results by taking in to account differences in socio-demographic characteristics of households.