Levels, Pattern and Distribution of Consumption Expenditure among Farmers in Rural Punjab

Abstract

The objective of the present paper is to analyze levels, pattern and distribution of consumption expenditure among farmers in rural Punjab. The study concludes that the large farmers give priority to marriages and other socio-religious ceremonies and durables while the landless, marginal, small and medium farming categories spend more on non-durable items. The expenditure made by the large farmers on these items is reflective of theirbetter economic condition due to ownership of land. The per capita consumption expenditure analysis clearlyshows that the farmers belonging to large and medium farm-size categories are maintaining a relatively better levels of living than those of the other three categories. The average propensity to consume is greater than one for all farm-size categories except the large farm-size category. This fact has an important implication that in the rural areas of Punjab these poor categories try to maintain a minimum level of consumption whether they can afford it or not. The present study is based on 631 farm households and relates to the year 2010–11.