Testing separability of Japanese demand for meat and fish within differential demand systems

The separability of meat products from fish products is investigated to gai n a better understanding of Japanese consumer choices in protein demand, Ra ther than view fish as a single homogeneous, commodity, fish and seafood ar e categorized into several groups of products. Separability is investigated using a demand system approach in which a generalized system of demand equ ations is specified and used, first to identify if any of the alternative d emand structures nested within the general system are appropriate for these data, and then, conditional on those results, to test separability of meat s from fish products following Moschini, Moro, and Green. Results indicate that meats and fish were separable prior to 1990; however, when examined ov er the entire 1981-95 study period, they are not.