Gasto domiciliar com alimentos: uma análise para a Região Centro-Oeste

This study aims to provide a preliminary analysis of data on the pattern of household expenditures with a selected group of foods, considering the states of the region “Centro-Oeste” of the Brazil. Will be assessed the influence of socioeconomic factors, such as income level, the cost of opportunity of women's time, measured in terms of schooling, women's work on the pattern of household food expenditure in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goias and Distrito Federal. The used data are from the Research of Family Budgets - POF 2002-2003, accomplished by IBGE. The results show a direct relationship between the cost of opportunity of woman's time and the expenditure of family with food that require less preparation time and an inverse relation to the acquisition and spending on food "time-intensive." The level of income presented a direct relation to the expenditure of nearly all foods analyzed.