Food Behavior Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Statistical Analysis of Consumer Survey Data from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing quarantine and other social distancing measures. These measures, however, have mental, social, and economic consequences on diet and food behaviors. The Bosnian case is particularly pertinent since the country has one of the highest global mortality rates relative to its population. In addition, its health system is fragmented and under-resourced. Consequently, in this study, we analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Bosnians’ behaviors relating to food. It is based on an online survey performed during October–November 2020 with 3133 adult respondents. The statistical analysis encompassed descriptive statistics (means, percentages, and frequencies), as well as cluster analysis. The results reveal that the pandemic transformed consumers’ shopping behaviors and food sourcing, reducing shopping frequency and increasing food bought on each trip. Furthermore, there was an increase in the consumption of local food items due to food safety concerns. Additionally, the pandemic improved the awareness of Bosnians towards food with a decrease in food waste. Regarding diets, Bosnians tried to have healthier diets during the pandemic. Therefore, COVID-19 might have opened a ‘window of opportunity’ to promote the shift towards more sustainable food consumption and lifestyles.

Forecasting with Business and Consumer Survey Data

In a context of growing uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the opinion of businesses and consumers about the expected development of the main variables that affect their activity becomes essential for economic forecasting. In this paper, we review the research carried out in this field, placing special emphasis on the recent lines of work focused on the exploitation of the predictive content of economic tendency surveys. The study concludes with an evaluation of the forecasting performance of quarterly unemployment expectations for the euro area, which are obtained by means of machine learning methods. The analysis reveals the potential of new analytical techniques for the analysis of business and consumer surveys for economic forecasting.

Stuck in the Seventies: Gas Prices and Consumer Sentiment

Using daily consumer survey data, we analyze the transmission of gas prices to consumer beliefs and expectations about the economy. We exploit the high frequency and geographic disaggregation of our dataset to facilitate identification. Consumer sentiment becomes more pessimistic with rising gas prices. This effect is strongest for consumers who lived through the recessionary oil crises in the 1970s, consistent with models of learning from personal experience. For younger respondents, the sensitivity of sentiment to gas prices is stronger for college-educated respondents. Sensitivity is also higher in states with greater gas expenditures per capita.

Employment Goals and Settings: Effects of Individual and Systemic Factors

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) continue to experience high rates of unemployment. Previous research suggests that including an employment goal in an individual’s service plan can be a mechanism toward attaining employment, especially in a community setting. This study contributes to the understanding of the role of employment goals and employment in community and facility-based settings for people with IDD. This study used 2012 to 2013 National Core Indicators (NCI) Adult Consumer Survey data from 26 states to understand (a) the effect of disability and guardianship on attaining an employment goal and (b) the effect of disability, guardianship, and an employment goal on employment in community and facility-based settings. Results indicate that people with more significant intellectual disability (ID), communication and mobility challenges, and people under guardianship had significantly lower odds of an employment goal. Related to employment settings, people with an employment goal have significantly higher odds of employment in individual-community, odds ratio (OR) = 11.25, p ⩽ .001, and group-community (OR = 6.07, p ⩽ .001) settings. Those with more significant levels of ID had significantly lower odds of employment in individual-community (OR = 0.64, p ⩽ .001), group-community (OR = 0.85, p ⩽ .05), and facility-based settings (OR = 0.85, p ⩽ .01). The odds of employment for people with communication and mobility challenges were significantly lower, across all settings. Guardianship status did not have a significant effect. These findings have policy and practice implications that should be considered in systems improvement.