Spatial behaviour of rural consumer households in highly developed economies. Survey results for Western Germany

This contribution attempts to identify effects of residential location of rural family households on their economic behaviour. Economic behaviour is understood to be reflected in the total spectrum of income and allocation of household resources. A holistic approach must go beyond activity on the labour and consumer markets and include non-market (‘informal’) activities of household members, taking into account domestic production of goods and services, interaction within social networks, the use of public commercial infrastructure, etc. The cost of living depends, among other things, on patterns of consumption, on regional price levels for consumer breadbaskets, as well as on costs involved in reaching public and commercial points of distribution. These factors result themselves from the interplay of economic forces giving rise to identifiable ‘economic territories’ and ‘market areas’ and ultimately to observable consumptive behaviour and ‘activity spaces’ of individual private households. Since data was available only for our rural survey households, comparative analysis of locational aspects was limited to consumption expenditures for which data could be found in administrative statistics for households in urban and periurban areas. The rural survey sample was found to have a higher average level and a different structure of expenditures when compared with their non-rural counterparts. At the same time, a preliminary effort was made in our own rural survey sample to determine the importance of non-market consumption for rural households. This included household consumption of domestic self-services (‘housework’), the utility value of owner-occupied dwellings, do-it-yourself production of substitutes for commercial goods and services, and exchanges within social networks. Results of this initial investigation of non-market elements of the household economy indicated that they were very important for the household's level-of-living and that they had a potential for compensating inequalities due to different degrees of access to market resources. Household strategies for optimizing their resource allocation to both market and non-market consumption were also examined. In general, ‘objective’ criteria and ‘subjective’ assessments by the survey households with respect to living conditions in rural Western Germany were found to give a positive image of rural life; however, differences in resource allocation strategies for market consumption between urban and rural households having been confirmed above, the question remains for future research about possible locational differences in household acquisition and use of non-market resources.     

Wie beeinflusst der demografische Wandel die privaten Verkehrsausgaben?

The level as well as the structure of private consumption is influenced by the age structure of the population. This is shown for Germany by an age-specific analysis of consumption patterns on the basis of household data of the German consumer income and budget survey. According to the gained data and with respect to the changing shares of age cohorts induced by demographic effects, the demand for consumption goods and services in the field of transport will lose significance. This is especially true for private transport expenditures such as the purchase of cars as well as the demand for goods and services related to the use of cars. In contrast, the expenditures for (public) transport services are projected to be unchanged over the lifecycle of a private household.     

Budget Allocation Patterns of U.S. Households across Income Levels in the 21st Century

This study examined the budget allocation patterns of U.S. households during the period 2000–2015. Four household groups—classified based on their income levels in relation to the federal poverty level—are used for the analyses. Data from the quarterly interview component of the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey were used in order to calculate households' annual expenditures in eight commodity groups: food, utilities, apparel and apparel services, transportation, medical care, shelter and household operations, other nondurable expenditures and services, and durable goods. An exact affine stone index (EASI) demand system was used to estimate demand relationships (i.e., price, income elasticities, and marginal effects). Overall, we find that budget allocation, consumers' responses to changes in prices and income, and the effects of sociodemographic characteristics on spending can be markedly different between income groups. The use of a representative or average household for demand analyses can mask substantial differences in economic behaviors between these four income groups.     

The Impact of Retirement on Household Leisure Expenditures

Household leisure expenditures for retired and near‐retired households were examined in order to better understand the dynamics associated with the move to retirement status. Data from the 1995 Consumer Expenditure Survey indicated that retirement, total expenditures, and education had positive impacts on leisure expenditures. For retired households, greater total expenditures and education increased expenditures, while age and the presence of earned income decreased expenditures. For near‐retired households, greater total expenditures, education, and the presence of asset income significantly increased leisure expenditures.     

Social class and consumption: employers as a special case

During the last few years it has become popular to argue that the impact of social class on personal consumption and other aspects of social behaviour is declining. This paper has two basic objectives. The first objective is to ascertain the extent of variation in consumption patterns between socio-economic groups, independent of income and type of household. As a number of studies of the class structure show, the long-term decline trend in self-employment outside of agriculture was halted or even reversed in many developed countries in the mid-1970s. However, despite evidence for the ‘new rise’ of the self-employed, and perhaps for reasons connected to the way social science has traditionally viewed it, little research has been conducted so far into the life styles and attitudes of this important group. Consequently, the second objective of this article is to analyse and compare the consumption pattern of the self-employed with that of employees — especially where income levels are the same. The results of this analysis, based on the Finnish household survey, indicate the effect of the socio-economic group is stronger than that of the income group and that the consumption pattern of the self-employed does not diverge greatly from that of the ‘well-off employee group. Nonetheless, the information on the detailed expenditure groups also reveals some interesting differences.     

新生人口、家庭再分配与地区的文化服务消费——基于直接比例税视角的经验分析

文章利用30个省级行政单位2003-2010年的面板数据,运用固定效应回归模型展开分析,研究了新生人口对地区文化服务消费的影响。结果发现：在控制收入、政府文化支出、人口素质、老年人口负担、社会保障支出等变量后,新生人口数量对文化服务消费有显著的消极影响。这说明当年的新生人口越多,该地区的文化消费越有可能显著减少。文章对此现象的解释是：新生人口对家庭而言,具有类似于直接的比例税效应,新生儿出生即意味着税收的增加,由此带来的家庭内部收入再分配会促使父母首先减少收入弹性大的文化服务的消费。因此文章的研究意味着,在发展文化服务产业时,除了“就文化产业谈文化发展”的思路外,其他思路也需要考虑,而就文章研究本身而言,减少新生子女父母的负担将有助于增加对文化服务产业的消费,并促进文化服务产业的发展。     

Analysis of tenure choice and housing expenditure patterns

This study employs a selectivity model to account for the simultaneity existing between determinations of tenure status and level of spending. Important socio-economic characteristics affecting housing tenure were identified. Results indicate that income had a more important effect on the housing expenditures of renters than owners at a lower household income level. The race of the household head had a significant effect on variations in housing expenditures for owners but not for renters, suggesting that race may be a more important factor in owner-occupant than in renter-occupant housing. While household size may be an important factor in a family's decision-making in terms of buying a home, it is suggested that once tenure status is selected family size had no significant impacts on housing expenditures. Similarly, married couples were most likely to own their own homes than were other household types; however, married households did not spend more or less than other types of households on either owned or rented accommodation. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that in assessing empirical results, attention should be given to meaningful interpretation of estimated selectivity effects as well as to testing for occurrence of selectivity bias.     

Effects of family livelihoods on household resource allocation in highly industrialized society

This contribution attempts to identify effects of the type of livelihood of rural family households on their economic behaviour. Economic behaviour is understood to be reflected in the total spectrum of income and allocation of household resources. A holistic approach must go beyond activity in the labour and consumer markets and include non-market (‘informal’) activities of household members, taking into account domestic production of goods and services, interaction within social networks, the use of public and commercial infrastructure, etc. Our study of resource income and allocation as a function of the household's livelihood undertook a comprehensive investigation of both market and non-market resources of the sample households. Results for full- and part-time farming family households, as well as for employee and self-employed households in the non-farm sector were compared. All survey households were comprised of four persons with an ‘intermediate’ level of family income living in disadvantaged rural areas. Apparent, but yet unquantified differences between these socio-professional groups, e.g. with regard to time-inputs into gainful activity, to regularity of income, and to joint accounting of the family and the firm/holding in self-employed households, had lent support to the hypothesis that there are marked differences in resource income and allocation strategies between these socio-professional groups. Survey results revealed, in quantitative terms, large workloads involved with self-employment, fringe benefits from dependent employment and, on the other hand, side-benefits from self-employment, such as the use of business stocks for private consumption. Compensatory effects of the disposition and use of non-market resources with regard to lower incomes was observed, as well as considerable differences between the socio-professional subsamples in strategies for and amounts of capital formation and social security. Furthermore, productive roles within the household, and the household's interaction with its social networks and other public and semi-public entities differed strongly between the socio-professional groups. Variance analysis disclosed that the findings on the above described differences in resource income and allocation between the socio-professional subsamples were statistically highly significant.     

Who buys newspapers in Spain? An analysis of the determinants of the probability to buy newspapers and of the amount spent

In this paper, we examine the determinants of household consumption of newspapers and the amount spent on their purchase by considering several explanatory variables related to household characteristics and the main household wage earner. Results show that the variables have quite similar effects on both the relative probability of buying newspapers and the amount spent. The key variables are the age and occupational status of the main wage earner, the number of household members, income and having to pay for the house, as well as a number of geographical variables. However, certain differences are also observed. The most important is the education of the main wage earner: while its effect on buying newspapers is very small (only those who did not complete primary education are less likely to buy), its effect on the amount spent increases with the level of education. As other studies of cultural goods and services consumption have suggested, education and occupational status are more relevant determinants than income.     

Characteristics of food‐wasting consumers in the Czech Republic

This paper investigates food waste at the consumer stage of the food chain. The authors conducted a questionnaire survey with 259 respondents to identify the key characteristics of food‐wasting consumers and to suggest strategies to improve food‐wasting behaviour. The results of the survey confirmed that the rate at which food is wasted depends on the age, economic status and education of the person managing food in a household, on the household's income per person and on total household income. Younger people, students, economically active people and people from higher‐income households (both per household and per person) waste more, while pensioners waste much less than other groups. However, the sex of the food manager is not associated with food waste. These demographic characteristics should be considered when designing consumer education campaigns focussed on changing consumer motivation and behaviour. This paper also recommends other solutions tailored for specific demographic groups: Younger people and students may be influenced by the actions of opinion leaders within social networks, and technical devices enabling better food management could help them reduce waste. Supporting work‐life balance, broadening the network of food delivery services and implementing corporate initiatives that support food waste prevention could help economically active people reduce their food waste. Additionally, offers of ready‐to‐eat food should be expanded for people with higher incomes.     

Secondary household production of food: the influence of home meal preparation on food expenditures and reported adequacy

A path model was tested to ascertain the relationships between certain socio-economic and demographic variables, the percentage of household meals prepared and eaten at home (secondary household production), food expenditures, and the household's reported adequacy of food consumed. Significant positive predictors of secondary household production of food were the age of the head and household size. Negative predictors were education of the head, income of the head(s) and number of hours worked by the household head(s). By far the most important predictor was the number of hours worked. The strongest predictor of food expenditures was household size. Other positive predictors were income of the head(s), number of household heads and the degree of urbanization. Negatively affecting food expenditures was secondary household production of food, indicating the ‘saving’ effect of preparing meals at home. The household's reported adequacy of their food was predicted by the positive effect of education of the head, age of the head, tenure, hours worked by the head(s) and number of household heads. Although the number of hours the heads are employed decreased the percentage of meals prepared at home, and the percentage of meals at home negatively affected expenditures, the number of employment hours had no effect on food expenditures.     

IMPACT OF INCOME AND WIFE'S EDUCATION ON FAMILY CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES

Data from the 1972–73 Consumer Expenditure Surveys were used to investigate whether wife's education influences family expenditure once the effects of income and other factors are taken into account. The double-log function was used in the multiple regression analysis of fifteen consumption expenditure categories. Education and income elasticities were also compared. Wife's education was influential in determining family consumption expenditures even after taking family income and other factors into account.     

FACTORS RELATED TO HOUSEHOLD AND CHILD CARE TASK RESPONSIBILITY OF SPOUSES IN HOUSTON,TEXAS

What are the differences in household and child care task responsibility by the employment role responsibility of spouses? What are the differences in the relationships between task preference, quality of task performance, and sex-role ideology and household and child care task responsibility of spouses by the employment role responsibility of the spouses? What are the most important variables in determining household and child care responsibility? Data were collected from a random sample of wives and husbands in Houston, Texas. The sample (n = 151) was generally characterized as white, middle-aged, upper income, and middle class. Wives who shared the employment role had less responsibility for female and child care tasks and husbands had more responsibility for female tasks than spouses in families in which the husband had total responsibility for the employment role. However, spouses who shared the employment role maintained major responsibility for their traditional household and child care tasks. Although liking of the tasks, quality of task performance, and sex-role attitudes were related to household and child care task responsibility, these relationships were not significantly different when the employment role was shared or was the total responsibility of the husband. Multiple regression analyses revealed that quality of task performance was the most frequent significant variable in determining household and child care task responsibility. Implications and recommendations are given.     

Forecasting Components of Consumption with Components of Consumer Sentiment

We present new evidence that existing, but long-ignored, measures of consumer sentiment can reduce errors in forecasting total consumption expenditures and its components. The component questions of the aggregate Index of Consumer Sentiment improve forecasts, not only of consumer expenditures on durables but also on non-durables and services. Empirical studies have historically focused on whether consumer sentiment improves one-quarterahead forecasts of consumer expenditures. In fact, we document that measures of consumer sentiment are especially predictive at the longer, four-quarter-ahead horizon. In addition, they typically contribute at least as much to one-quarter-ahead and four-quarter-ahead forecasts of consumption as do income and wealth variables. Out-ofsample forecasts for the 2000-2005 period further substantiate that measures of consumer sentiment can reduce consumption forecasting errors appreciably. JEL Classification C53,E21     

Household expenditure on poultry and seafood in the U.S.A. - a cross-sectional analysis

This study investigates the determinants of household expenditures on poultry and seafood using the 1992 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Higher income and larger households with a better-educated and older household head spend more on poultry, especially during the fourth quarter of the year, than others. Higher income and north-eastern households with a non-white and better-educated household head spend more on seafood than others. Poultry expenditures are more sensitive to changes in household size than to changes in household income. In contrast, seafood expenditures are more sensitive to changes in household income than to changes in household size.     

政府支出对居民消费的影响研究--基于空间动态面板模型的分析

本文在居民消费效用最大化的理论背景下,结合统计年鉴相关数据,利用空间动态面板模型,研究了1997-2013年中国的政府支出对全体居民、城镇居民以及农村居民消费的影响。研究结果表明：居民消费存在显著的习惯效应,政府支出和居民收入增加会促进居民消费,各省份之间居民消费既可能存在相互促进的关系,也可能存在相互竞争的关系。因此为了促进居民消费,需要适当地保持较好的消费习惯,改变不良的消费习惯,注意省份之间的密切合作,现阶段可以增加政府支出,来刺激居民消费,特别是农村居民消费,另外还需要提高城镇居民可支配收入和农村居民纯收入。     

Situational price sensitivity: the role of consumption occasion, social context and income

Research on consumer reaction to price has been largely confined to examining consumers’ price information search, evaluation of price alternatives, and individual purchase behaviors without regard to situational influences. At the same time, consumption has often been dichotomized in terms of its functional-hedonic nature and has been examined with regard to social influence. Surprisingly, researchers have heretofore not examined the potential effect of the consumption occasion or social context on consumers’ price sensitivity. Further, research examining the effect of household resources on price sensitivity has produced mixed results. We argue that household income effects on price sensitivity are dependent upon the situation. This research addresses two key issues. First, we examine whether individuals are equally price-sensitive when purchasing products for functional (e.g., purchasing frozen vegetables or paper towels) versus hedonic (e.g., purchasing ice cream or cookies) consumption situations and whether social context (i.e., consuming the product alone or with others) influences price sensitivity. Second, we explore the interaction effects of household income and consumption context on price sensitivity. We examine these issues across a series of three studies, finding that consumers’ price sensitivity is in fact attenuated by both hedonic and social consumption situations and that income moderates these effects. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Expenditure patterns on food and non food items of Khayelitsha households,Western Cape,South Africa

Food insecurity or lack of access to adequate and nutritious food is a major determinant of under‐nutrition. Expenditure patterns accompanied by unemployment, low level of education, inflation and high food prices have a direct negative impact on food availability within households (Moller, 1997). Ghany and Schwenk (1993) found that as household income increases, the proportion of expenditures on food decreases, the proportion of expenditures on clothing, rent, fuel, and light stayed the same and that of sundries increased. The aim of this study was to investigate household expenditure patterns on food and non‐food items in Khayelitsha. A total of 20 households (10 from the formal and 10 from the informal settlements) were randomly selected from those willing to participate in the study. A questionnaire with open ended and closed questions was used to collect data. The questionnaire comprised four sections namely: biographical information, socio‐economic information which used wealth quintiles to assess households’ social economic status, total expenditure information and a food/hunger scale was used to assess households’ food availability. The findings revealed that households from informal settlements spent more money (62.2%) as a proportion of their income on food compared to households from the formal settlement (39%). There was higher unemployment rate (100%) at the informal settlement compared to the formal settlement (40%). Wealth quintiles scales did not reflect the social status of the households as equipment and assets owned by households were only used as fallback position during times of economic hardships. Households used different purchasing strategies; food and non‐food items were mainly purchased from outside the township (60%). Forty percent of the households bought their items from local shops and spazas because they allowed them to buy items whenever little money was available or to take items on credit. All the respondents preferred to buy bread and small items from spazas and local shops. Prices of items in the spazas and local shops were higher compared to prices of items in bigger shops outside the townships. The food/hunger scale and wealth quintiles showed that informal settlement households were more food insecure (as they were all unemployed and about 50% of the households ran out of food always) and had fewer assets compared to the formal settlement households. The implications of these findings underscore the need to improve socio‐economic conditions of low resource households through empowerment programs. These programs can be in the form of training in management/decision making, work related skills/literacy (to help them access formal employment), business management/income generation skills (to help them to be self‐employed), budgeting, and food gardening. This approach can help to increase the resource base and alleviate food insecurity in low resource households.     

Predictors of consumption cutbacks in response to increased energy costs

Energy costs have increased at a more rapid rate than overall household costs in recent years. The effects of these increased costs upon families' consumption of goods and services, as measured by cutbacks in and across consumption categories and cutbacks in necessities, were studied in relation to three variables: (1) family income level; (2) perceived effect of energy cost changes upon life in the last five years (well-off); and (3) belief that energv consumption could be reduced by one-fourth in the next year. Family income level was significantly related in a negative direction to each measure of cutback in consumption. However, the well-off measure explained a greater percentage of the variation in consumption cutback measures than did income level.     

Book Reviews

This study examines whether the restaurant food expenditure patterns of two-earner Canadian households are consistent with a hypothesis that restaurant meals are convenience rather than luxury items. Results of the study indicate a positive relationship between the proportion of total food expenditures allocated to discretionary restaurant meals and the wage rates (value of time) of both the household head und spouse and a negative relationship between proportionate restaurant food expenditures and unearned income. Both results support the hypothesis. The study also examines relationships between proportionate restaurant food expenditures and a set of household characteristics variables.