Question

Is it efficient to feed a family using large quantities of frozen “convenience” foods? Under what circumstances could these expensive grocery items provide the least- cost inputs for producing the output of a family dinner? What questionable premise is being used by someone who says that shoppers are wasting money by paying twice as much for convenience foods as they would have to pay for dinner items they prepare themselves?

Answer 1

This problem can be analysed through efficiency which compares all costs and all benefits. This is not simply related to money, but other additional costs. In the example of feeding more expensive “convenience” foods, it all depends on the situation and how much value is placed on different benefits or costs to buying the food. The most obvious cost is money and benefit is having food.

Buying the “convenience” foods would be least-cost if certain circumstances were to be true. If the family is large, then buying in bulk may be a cheaper opportunity than buying fresh food because the bulk food usually is at a lower cost. Another circumstance is how much the family values time. The “convenience” food would allow the family to spend more time with each other because it would not take a lot of time to cook. It could allow the mother to invest her time elsewhere, being more efficient for her.

The questionable premise in saying that shoppers waste money is that money is the only cost that is being assumed in the equation. It is too narrow-minded of an assumption, and that there is nothing circumstantial that has to be considered when making the decision.

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