Islands

Rapid urbanization is a major cause of structural change in food demand but existing studies do not show how quickly and completely rural migrants change their diets. Evidence on this dietary change may help when forecasting the future market for traditional staples in urban areas and the foreign exchange requirements for food imports. This paper uses cross-s ctional household survey data from urban areas of Papua New Guinea to estimate how quickly and completely migrants from the rural highlands switch their diets from traditional root crops to imported cereals. Preferences for the traditional staples appear to persist for many years