[1] Lancaster was also active in developing the calculus of qualitative economics,[2][3] formulating the household production function, and applying the hedonic model to the estimation of housing prices.
In a 1966 paper, Lancaster developed what he called a "new theory of consumer demand", in which the then standard microeconomic demand theory was modified by stipulating that what consumers are seeking to acquire is not goods themselves (e.g. cars or train journeys) but the characteristics they contain (e.g. transport from A to B, display of fashion sense).
Being a good cook meant knowing that taste had several dimensions including sweet, salty, sour, and savory.
For a meal to be agreeable, it had to combine these elements of flavor and it also had to be easily digested, suggesting that nutritional dimensions such as greasiness, protein content, and temperature had to figure into the cook’s understanding.
He joins the list of extraordinary economists such as Joan Robinson, Roy Harrod, and Mancur Olson whom death deprived of this singular honor.