Homemakers' household-work time in single-parent and two-parent families

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant difference existed between single-parent family homemakers and two-parent family homemakers regarding the amount of time spent in selected household tasks. The examination of the impacts of selected socio-demographic variables on the amount of time spent in total household work and the component tasks by the homemakers was also a part of this study.     

Children's contributions to household activities in single-parent and two-parent families

Differences in children's contributions to total household work, food preparation, dishwashing, shopping, housecleaning, and the maintenance of home, yard, car and pets were examined. Differences due to the impact of age and sex of the child as well as the employment status of the homemaker were also analysed.     

Food patterns of two-parent,two-child households of urban South Louisiana

Food patterns of 105 two-parent, two-child households in South Louisiana were studied. A survey questionnaire was used for data collection. Age of youngest child was a highly significant factor in determining nutritional adequacy of family dietaries as measured by servings from the basic four food groups. Families with young children prepared more fruit and vegetables. Educational level of the spouse was an important factor in breakfast patterns; those with partial college educations served more meat. Part-time employed homemakers served more breakfast meals and used more convience feeds.     

论我国小康家庭消费模式

目前,家庭还是个人消费的基本单位,这就是说,个人消费资料主要是在家庭中进行消费的,消费是家庭经济行为的一个重要方面,家消费通常包括物质资料消费、文化教育消费、医疗保健消费、闲暇消费和家庭劳务消费等。家庭消费行为的目标,就是要在以上物质的、文化的、精神的和劳务的消费中得到最大的满足,追求效用的最大化,总之,家庭亲缘经济的目标即家庭幸福量大化,最终是通过家庭消费实现的。消费对于家庭经济行为具有决策性意义。     

Advertising Spending and Perceived Quality

Marketing Letters - In this paper we examine the relationship between advertising spending and perceived product quality. The questions we ask are: Does a product's advertising spending...     

Spending propensity and price perceptions

ABSTRACT

This article presents a systematic investigation of how Spending Propensity moderates consumers’ perceptions of prices. Results from three studies are presented. Studies 1 and 2 reveal that, in the absence of any external cues, consumers who are predisposed to spending freely evaluate a posted price more favorably than those who are not. Such consumers also report anticipating less pain associated with spending than those who are not inclined to spend. Additionally, Study 2 informs that simple price communication tactics, without any real reduction in price, may be effective at mitigating the pain felt among those who are less inclined to spend. Furthermore, such tactics are capable of reducing, and even reversing, the gap between those who are not predisposed to spending and those who are. Finally, Study 3 explores how spending propensity moderates consumers’ perceptions of a discount.     

Housing Activity and Consumer Spending

The current expansion has seen record-high levels of transactions in housing, extraordinary growth in the aggregate value of owner-occupied housing, and large increases in the amount of funds realized from the refinancing of mortgage debt. Many analysts thus have pointed to the strong housing market and rising home prices as a major pillar supporting recent economic growth and have expressed concern that a contraction in housing activity and values could pose a significant risk to consumer spending and real economic growth. This paper explores the channels by which the housing market may affect consumer spending and assesses the potential risk from a softening in the housing market. Our assessment is that while a housing slowdown by itself may slow consumer spending some, it is probably insufficient to precipitate a downturn without some additional shocks outside of the sector. JEL Classification E21,R21     

Getting and Spending in a Democracy

Francesco Forte and Alan Peacock (eds), Public Expenditure and Government Growth (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985) 237 pp., |SL22.50     

Choices for Federal Spending and Taxes

Although weakness in the U.S. economy is an important factor in current federal budget deficits, even robust growth will leave unsustainable deficits unless there are major changes in federal policies. Moreover, deficits cannot be eliminated by reversion to past tax and spending policies. This paper explores the causes and magnitudes of the projected deficits and the choices that must be faced for the federal budget to regain a sustainable path.     

The Effects of Prior Spending on Future Spending Decisions: The Role of Acquisition Liabilities and Payments

Research in mental accounting shows that prior spending influences a consumer's decision to make a new spending decision (Heath and Soll 1996, Soman 2001). In particular, greater spending in a particular category reduces the likelihood of further spending in that category. In the present research, we decompose spending into two distinct episodes—the acquisition liability episode during which a purchase is made accompanied by a commitment to pay (e.g., using a credit card) and the payment episode during which the consumer's wealth actually gets depleted (e.g., paying the credit card bill). Using a controlled laboratory experiment and real world data from a group of consumers, we replicate earlier findings that prior spending influences a pending spending decision, but also show that the location of both the acquisition liability episode and the payment episode play a role. Our results contribute to an understanding of the dynamic mental accounting of acquisition liability and actual outflows.     

Currency of Search: How Spending Time on Search is Not the Same as Spending Money

Search theories suggest that a decline in search costs increases search behavior. This relationship has been well supported by prior experimental research but not by studies conducted in retail settings. Our review of the literature suggests that this discrepancy might be driven by the fact that prior experiments typically involve money-based search whereas actual search in retail settings is usually time-based. We argue that the currency of search plays a moderating role. We find that when participants spend money on search, a decrease in search costs has a significant effect on search decisions but, when they spend time on search, a decrease in search costs either has a relatively weak effect (Experiment 1) or no effect at all (Experiment 2). Furthermore, this insensitivity in time also emerges for search payoffs (Experiment 3). We also offer evidence for the processes underlying these effects. Our results provide a new lens to examine inconsistencies in the search literature, and present a view of search that is more applicable to the retail context.     

Trade Liberalisation and Capital Spending by US Manufacturers

This is the first paper to study the impact of long‐term tariff reductions on capital spending by US manufacturers. We investigate fluctuations in investment for approximately 400 different four‐digit industries during the period 1974–2005. Our results indicate that the dismantling of tariff and quota protection has had a stimulatory effect on US manufacturing investment, despite the relatively low average tariff rate that existed at the start of our sample period. However, our findings reveal that reductions in input tariffs rather than output tariffs were the source of this effect, suggesting that better access to foreign inputs rather than increased foreign competition at the output level served as the primary stimulus for increased US manufacturing investment.     

Food expenditure patterns of working-wife families: Meals prepared away from home versus convenience foods

This paper investigates food expenditure patterns of working-wife families, focusing on the allocation of food dollars between two major time-saving options: meals prepared away from home and convenience foods. Data are drawn from the U.S. 1983 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Analysis of variance and regression techniques are used to compare expenditure patterns of families grouped by the wife's hours worked and her earnings. The findings suggest that working-wife families prefer the purchasing of meals prepared away from home to that of convenience foods. In particular, families with high-earning, full-time working wives buy the most meals prepared away from home, while the greatest expenditures on convenience foods are observed for families with moderate-earning working wives.     

Differences in Spending Habits and Credit Use of College Students

In a study of college students, affective credit attitude (feeling about using credit cards) and gender influenced college students' credit purchasing. Affective credit attitude predicted the purchase of clothing, electronics, entertainment, travel, gasoline, and food away from home. Females purchased clothing; males purchased electronics, entertainment, and food away from home. Gender was more influential in predicting financial management practices than was affective credit attitude, with female students employing a greater number of financial practices. A path analysis model showed gender differences in the relationship between financial practices, financial stress, affective credit attitude, and the number of credit cards with a balance.     

大学生消费支出差异分析

不论是学术界还是一般老百姓,对培养大学生的家庭负担等问题曾进行一系列热烈的讨论,但是对于在校大学生日常经济生活状况,尤其是大学生可支配现金收入的支出情况可能还不甚明了.随着我国高等教育大众化步伐的加快,大学生消费支出情况会引起更多的关注.为此我们对这一问题进行了调查.     

中国地方政府超额公共支出规模的测度及其控制——基于省级政府面板数据的实证分析

通过直接的收支平衡方法、最优公共支出规模方法和债务可持续性方法对中国地方政府不断积累的超额支出规模进行估计,结果表明,地方政府债务规模仍然处于相对可以控制的范围之内,东部部分地区的债务规模中等,偿债压力中等。为了控制政府的支出规模,当前提高财政透明度、改变官员的绩效考核方式、合理界定地方支出范围势在必行。     

Advertising Spending and Quality for Services: The Role of Capacity

In this paper we explore the relations among advertising spending, capacity and quality for services. Data from a sample of New York City restaurants show that mid-quality restaurants spend more on advertising than either high quality or low quality ones, contradicting the usual Nelson-type prediction that advertising spending increases with quality. Also, controlling for quality, restaurants with larger capacities advertise more. We present a model of services to explain these observations. The key features of the model are: (1) capacity constraints, (2) uncertain demand, (3) the presence of both informed and uninformed consumers, and (4) a technological link between capacity and quality. We argue that for services, advertising not only informs consumers, but it also can improve capacity utilization. Given this dual role, advertising is more valuable to firms with larger capacities and higher price-cost margins. The variation of these two elements with quality determines the advertising-quality relation.     

The Impact of the Housing Market Boom and Bust on Consumption Spending

While econometric evidence for the United States has consistently shown that increases in real estate wealth induce additional consumption, it does not directly speak to the effect of a substantial decrease in real estate wealth. This paper examines the real-estate wealth-consumption relationship over the past half century with a particular focus on the sharp decline in 2006–08, and finds that the wealth effect in the recent down market is significantly larger than in an up market. Additionally, wealth changes seem only to affect consumption of services and nondurable goods; there is virtually no impact on durable-goods consumption.