CHALLENGES OF MARKETS DURING THE POST–PANDEMIC IN ALBANIA: A PHILOSOPHICAL OBSERVATION ON FOOD CONSUMPTION THROUGH THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR

Abstract

The food markets in the post-pandemic period across Europe have been characterized by slowdown growth, declining income, and rising energy prices. In Albania, these developments have created social distortions, raising the poverty line and concerns about the impact of socio-economic factors on food consumption. Food consumption is an interdisciplinary scientific subject and the influence of key socio-economic factors beyond a standard–simplistic–approach can be analyzed also in the level of causes and social consequences through the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The study objective is a measurement the influence of some variables such as age, religion, education level, gender, family members, family employees, and income on meat consumption in the food markets of Tirana, Albania. The statistical model used shows that while the number of family members and consumer’s religiousness (Muslim or Christian) does not affect meat consumption, age, education levels gender, family employees, and family income affect significantly. The findings provide a multidisciplinary observation of the food consumption problem, calling for attention to poverty.

Keywords

• food consumption
• employees
• income
• theory of planned behavior