DEMAND FOR PREPARED MEALS BY US HOUSEHOLDS

Using the 1987-88 NFCS, a Heckman two-stage procedure was used to esti mate the demand for prepared meals by U.S. households. Prepared meals were defined as those ready to cat and those ready to cool;. Household s headed by younger, more educated, and time-constrained managers were more likely to purchase prepared meals. Income elasticities ranged fr om 0.07 to 0.13, while own-price elasticities ranged from -0.23 to -0. 66. Evidence exists to indicate that prepared meals and food-away-from -home are substitutes. The presence of teenagers in a household is pos itively associated with expenditures of prepared meals.