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This paper analyses the impact of the economic crisis on the nutritional quality of the diet, using budgetary shares obtained by the Italian Household Budget Survey (HBS). First, we construct an index of nutritional quality at the household level based on actual budgetary shares and their compliance with nutritional guidelines. Working on a time-series of cross-section for the period 2006-2012, we are able to individuate some interesting paths across demographic groups and to detect the effect of the economic crisis on diet quality. The analysis shows that people in the North tend to eat healthier than people in other geographical areas; families with more than three members have a better diet quality; singles tend to have a less balanced diet; elderly people are the one having less healthy diet among different age groups. Further, the economic crisis has (unexpectedly) positively impacted the overall nutritional quality of Italian population.

We investigate the impacts of Private Label (PL) introduction on prices and market shares of national brands (NBs). During the sample period, PL products were introduced at different times in different geographical markets. The econometric model exploits this fact and compares NB prices in markets where PL was introduced to those in markets where PL had not been introduced. We found the response on price is not homogeneous, but it varies among brands and segments. Moreover, our results suggest that an aggregate level estimation fails to identify the response at the brand level. These results corroborate the importance of using brand specific models in appraising the effects of a PL introduction on market prices and consumer welfare. Lastly, the analysis allows us to consider the possibility of a cross effect by exploiting the effect of a PL introduction on NB market shares in segments close to the refrigerated milk market.