Which Shape of Pasta is the Cheapest?
There is price discrimination happening, but I think it’s not just about picky versus non-picky customers – spagetti, for instance, so no easier to produce than linguini. I think it is because certain shapes of pasta are perceived as higher status than other shapes. You can see this in what is available in what brands, as well. Where I lived in Britain, if you wanted to buy the cheapest store brand you had no choice but spagetti – for any other shapes, you had to buy premium brands. Tescos may just be doing the same kind of price discrimination themselves – realising there is a class/cultural premium to certain kinds of pasta (which are seen to be more authentically Italian and less working class than spagetti). I think this is more extreme in Britain than many places in the United States and Canada, because we just have a much higher Italian-immigrant population. I remember finding pasta in general in Britain less common and more expensive than in North America (though most other stap
