INCOME DISTRIBUTION,CREDIT RATIONING AND HOUSEHOLDS' DEBT

In this paper, we present a model of an economy with household debt, and discuss the conditions under which financial fragility arises. Financial instability is driven by distributive effects. In addition to the income transfers associated with interest payments, the accumulation of debt feeds back with the distribution of income between labour and capital. The model also gives a central role to banks and credit rationing. Contrary to the existing literature, credit supply does not depend on the characteristics of borrowers, but on those of banks. There is a feedback channel between the health of the financial system and the quantity of credit in the economy. We show that there is a diversity of channels through which financial fragility may arise. We identify three channels: a debt–deflation effect à la Fisher, a credit‐financed consumption boom and an exhilarating debt effect.     

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.     

Labour Market Institutions and Household Consumption Insurance within OECD Countries

This paper tests empirically whether the effect of idiosyncratic income shocks on aggregate consumption depends on institutional features of national labour markets. The results show that, in a sample of 15 OECD countries, institutional heterogeneity is a significant determinant of the response of household consumption to country‐specific income shocks. This is consistent with the idea that institutionally provided social insurance may help increase income stability when people differ in their ability to access financial markets and smooth consumption fluctuations.     

Family,life cycle and consumption of services: the Spanish case

This article presents an analysis of service consumption patterns in Spanish homes, based on different stages in the life cycle of a family, using cross-section data from the Encuesta Continua de Presupuestos Familiares (Ongoing Survey of Family Budgets). The study's main objective consists of establishing a taxonomy of services consumed by the home by estimating income elasticity. The results obtained classify services as inferior, necessary and luxury and also point the public sector in the direction of some economic policy measures involving a more balanced distribution of income.     

家庭债务的变动与居民消费的过度敏感性:来自中国的证据

通过引入家庭债务变量对LC-PIH模型进行扩展,并运用动态最小二乘(DOLS)方法、误差修正模型、暂时性—持久性因子分解和脉冲响应进行实证分析,结果表明:家庭债务、收入和财富的持久性变动对消费存在显著的促进效应,收入的持久性变动影响最大,其后依次为财富和家庭债务;不同于传统分析框架的结论,不但财富的持久性变动会影响消费,其暂时性变动也会影响消费,但收入的暂时性变动对消费的影响并不显著;在家庭债务和财富的持久性和暂时性变动共同作用下,消费变动更为剧烈。因此,政策当局一方面要稳步提升居民预期收入水平,完善消费信贷的相关政策,以推动消费的稳步增长;另一方面还应密切关注家庭负债水平,以防范家庭过度负债而可能引发的债务收缩,导致消费的大幅下滑。     

Spouse care for children and other family members: the effects of family benefits

This paper first presents evidence from Spain on the relationship between the labour situation of both spouses within the family and the time dedicated to the care of the children, the elderly and the infirm. Second, it analyses the effect that government benefits for such care would have on the labour market and on household poverty. The results show that while Spanish society has advanced in the incorporation of women into the labour market, most of them still have to assume total responsibility for housework and the care of the children, the elderly and the infirm. Against this background, we find that benefits would decrease female participation in the labour market and the number of hours worked, while they would also contribute towards reducing poverty.     

城乡老年人医疗消费行为及其影响因素分析——以泰州市海陵区为例

论文为了了解影响老年人医疗消费行为的多层次原因,并据此对老年人医疗消费改善提供针对性的建议,随机抽取泰州市海陵区416名常住老年人,进行医疗消费行为及影响因素的调查,同时采用SPSS软件进行描述分析、卡方检验等分析。结果显示,泰州市海陵区老年人去医疗机构就诊占60.6%,去药店买药占34.4%,先不治疗占5%。卡方检验结果显示影响因素主要有户籍、年龄、收入以及受教育水平、市场环境。因此,泰州市海陵区老年人医疗消费行为以去医疗机构就诊为主,医疗消费行为主要受户籍、年龄、收入、受教育水平等因素的影响。老年人的身体健康状况较差,患慢性病的老年人较多,对医疗保健的需求较大,应大力发展老年医疗服务行业,提高老年医疗资源的有效供给。     

Education and the empowerment of women in household decision‐making in Spain

It was analysed whether investment in the education of both women and men serves to empower wives resulting in more balanced household decisions being taken on matters related to consumption and financial management. They considered that household decision‐making could be made by mainly the wife, mainly the husband or the couple acting jointly. They then applied multinomial probit models to the Spanish Living Conditions Survey of 2010. Results show that, when controlling for demographic, family and labour market characteristics, the level of education of both the husband and wife has a positive effect in terms of a more egalitarian decision‐making process in relation to three areas of expenditure: daily shopping, expensive purchases of consumer durables and significant expenditure on children. However, only women's education has a positive effect on borrowing money and no effect of education is observed with regard to the use of savings. Results are less conclusive for households where decisions are taken primarily by the wife or husband, since men's education increases the role of husbands in the household making‐decision process whereas no effect of wives' education is observed.     

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.     

Intertemporal substitution in the Spanish economy: Evidence from regional data

This paper studies the intertemporal substitution in consumption and leisure for the Spanish economy by estimating the first‐order conditions of an individual optimization model with regional and aggregate data. While first‐order conditions determining intertemporal substitution in consumption show a good econometric fit, and the value we obtain for the intertemporal elasticity of substitution is similar to previously available results, the econometric fit of the intertemporal condition in leisure indicates that the behaviour of the Spanish labour supply over the cycle is more complex than can be explained by the canonical intertemporal choice model.     

农民收入水平对农村家庭能源消费结构影响的实证分析

本文依据调查资料,利用层次分析法实证分析了农民收入水平对农村家庭能源消费结构的影响,得出结论:农户的收入水平对农村家庭生活用能源种类的选择影响较大,因此不同收入水平的农户家庭能源消费的结构存在较大的差异;人均收入在4000元以下的农户,户用沼气的权系数最大,人均收入超过4000元的农户,液化气的权系数最大;农户的收入越高,对能源的舒适性、便利性、卫生特性的要求越高,农户的收入越低,对能源的经济性则考虑得越多;使用无成本、又便利的户用沼气非常适合在收入水平较低的农村地区推广。     

Discovering the variables that influence new home‐buyer service satisfaction

While home builders traditionally think of customer service in terms of upgrades and mortgage options, home buyers are thought to view the quality of service on a much broader basis. Previous research has identified five dimensions of service quality: appearance, reliability, timeliness, knowledge, and empathy. Home‐buyer satisfaction with service quality is then the result of home builders providing services that are perceived as meeting or exceeding buyer expectations. Although much research has been done regarding home‐buyer satisfaction with service quality, there is still a gap between builders' and home buyers' perception of the quality of service. Builders need to identify and understand home‐buyer needs in order to constantly improve service quality. This paper describes an exploratory study that focused on customer satisfaction with service quality. The objective of this study was to assess the correlations between various factors on home‐buyer expectations and their perceptions of service quality. Demographics considered in this study included age, gender and household income, while transaction characteristics included purchase price, number of occupants and house size. Characteristics such as higher income, higher purchase price, and larger house size appeared to value dimensions such as reliability most highly. Characteristics such as lower income, lower purchase price and smaller house size appeared to value dimensions such as empathy and appearance most highly. Gender, age and household size did not have significant associations with expectations or relative importance, but age and household size were associated with actual perceptions of service dimensions. Understanding the influence of these variables on customer satisfaction with service quality can positively impact home builders through improved reputation and increased local referrals.     

Taxes and the time allocation patterns of married women with children: cross-cultural comparisons between the United States and Canada

It is widely recognized in the family economics literature that the structure of an income tax system affects labour supply. This paper examines and contrasts the effects of U.S. and Canadian tax policies on one particular group: married women with children. Using a household production model of time allocation, it is initially argued that U. S. tax policies promote market work for this group, while Canadian tax policies discourage market work for similar women. What is found is that Canadian women display weaker labour force attachment than American women and they spend more time in home production activities. These effects are consistent with initial predictions.     

Household savings and present bias among Chinese couples: A household bargaining approach

Family savings is crucial to long-term wellbeing for all members in a household, particularly in a Chinese context where costs of living increasingly shift from government to individuals. Savings are typically examined as a balance of financial behaviors and spending preferences; however, this study highlights how savings in a family context is also a function of relationship status. Drawing on intra-household bargaining models, we analyze data from the 2014 China Family Panel Studies to examine the extent to which men's and women's relative power in the household explain variation in savings levels across families. Our findings indicate that women's greater bargaining positions (e.g., income and assets) correspond with greater savings for the family. However, such bargaining power constitutes a net negative for family savings when women have both greater relational power and higher spending preferences. We suggest that family savings can and should be understood as an outcome of dynamic bargaining conditions in addition to income factors.     

Family economics in Russia: women's perspectives on the transition to a market economy

Abstract This study of family economic variables is based on in-depth oral interviews conducted in the spring of 1995 with 95 women living in Moscow, Russia. The survey explored family economic life in a variety of socioeconomic settings. Data gathered include an overview of the household economy, family income and expenses, satisfaction with current economic situation, patterns of consumption, work culture and women's culture. In addition, the subjects were asked to comment on the current status of women in Russia, the state of the economy and the role government should play in the economy. The analysis contributes to an understanding of the relationship between the reproduction economy and the macro/production economy in a time of major economic upheaval.     

Remittance Receipt and Business Ownership in the Dominican Republic

Using household‐level data from the Dominican communities in the Latin American Migration Project (LAMP‐DR7), we examine the links between remittance receipt and business ownership. We find that while the existence of a family business attracts remittance inflows, these monetary funds are associated with a reduced likelihood of business entrepreneurship. These results are consistent with various hypotheses regarding remittances and business investments. First, remittances may be motivated by the availability of investment opportunities in the home community. Second, remittances may respond to a bequest motive on the part of the emigrant, who may wish to lay claim on family assets when returning home. Lastly, remittances may cause an income effect that reduces family labour force participation and, correspondingly, the likelihood of family‐run business investments.     

Complex services and choice criteria: an example from the life assurance market

This study analyses customer choice criteria in the context of a complex service, more specifically, endowment life assurance policies. The study draws upon previous literature which has suggested that service complexity may have implications for consumer behaviour in general and customer choice criteria in particular. A quantitative study is employed to investigate the relative importance of choice criteria in endowments and differences in importance with respect to various demographic and related factors. Findings indicate that the consumer's choice of institution is most often influenced by use of an existing service with that firm, followed closely by choosing on the basis of recommendation or family relationship. Factors such as performance and charges are shown to be relatively unimportant choice criteria. In addition, differences in the importance of choice criteria with respect to gender, class, household income, educational attainment, age and financial maturity are apparent.     

Temporal changes in income distribution among the states of America during the 1980s

Abstract: The purpose of this paper was to examine the effect of variations in selected factors on the change in interstate distribution of household income during the 1980s. The results indicate that the percentage change in the female labour force's participation as well as the state unemployment rate had statistically significant effects on the percentage increase change in the Gini measure of income inequality.     

Globalisation and Poverty in Latin America: Some Channels and Some Evidence

This paper provides an overview of the main mechanisms through which globalisation can affect poverty and household welfare in Latin America and presents supporting evidence from different case studies in the region. One case study explores the impacts of agricultural trade liberalisation in world markets on poverty in Argentina, with an emphasis on labour income effects via real wages. The second case study examines the impacts of CAFTA on net producers and net consumers among the indigenous population in Guatemala. The analysis explores short‐run impacts as well as medium‐run impacts as households adjust farm decisions. Finally, a last exercise is set up to study the role of agricultural liberalisation on wages, employment and unemployment when there are frictions in labour markets. These case studies show that the impacts of trade on developing countries are heterogeneous. In Argentina, there are gains from liberalisation of world agriculture and higher food prices. In Guatemala, instead, the indigenous population would benefit from lower food prices. It is clear that household adjustments and complementary factors are fundamental ingredients of any reasonable evaluation of the welfare impacts of trade reforms.