食の洋風化定着過程における小麦需給変容の政策分析

Abstract

In the process of Japan's rapid economic growth wheat market transformed dramatically, and wheat imports increased rapidly. One of the most effective factors that caused the transformation is the westernization of food life, in particular, the spread of breads. Although a large number of studies have been made on this, little is known about the relation between the westernization of food life and food pricing policies. In order to investigate the relation, I classify Hard Wheat, which is used as the material of breads, and Soft Wheat, which is used as the material of typical Japanese noodle, and then I develop a econometric model with simulating the pricing policy.The findings are as follows;1) The Hard Wheat demand increased as a result of income growth and the decline in the relative government selling price of wheat to rice. A third of demand increase from 1961 to 1968 is explained by income growth, and two-thrids by the decline in relative price. A third of decline in relative price is explained by the increase of government buying price of rice, and two-thrids by the increase of imports under budget pooling scheme of government wheat control.2) The paper specified three paths that led to the rapid increase of wheat imports. The food pricing policy induced the path through which the increase in the government purchasing rice price led to the expansion of both wheat demands. Through this path, Hard Wheat responded more sensitive to the decline in relative price than Soft Wheat, and it contributed to the rapid increase of wheat import.