Changes In Household Size Research Articles

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.

Measuring the components of regional energy conservation: Residential natural-gas consumption in St. Louis

We present results of a study of changes in residential natural-gas consumption in the St. Louis region. The Princeton Scorekeeping Method (PRISM) is used for measuring changes in weather-adjusted consumption and for isolating the components of conservation. PRISM also provides a basis for separating changes in the thermal integrity of the housing stock from changes in average indoor temperatures. We decompose savings further by considering demographic variables, fuel substitution, and the composition of internal heat gains. The results show that a substantial fraction of savings can be attributed to changes in weather-independent consumption (30–40% of total savings for St. Louis since 1971), but a considerable fraction of this may be caused by changes in household size. Savings associated with structural improvements to the housing stock, which generally have long-term effects on energy consumption, represent the principal component of savings for St. Louis (about 53%). Savings from behavioral changes that involve lower indoor temperatures and possibly decreased comfort may be readily implemented by households as a first reaction to fuel shortages or sudden price increases, but at least in some areas of the country, they have had little, if any, lasting effect. Over the long term, the principal cause of conservation may be increases in energy prices. For St. Louis, 85% of the change in natural-gas consumption since 1971 can be explained by variations in price alone. The remaining unexplained variation may be correlated with other factors such as changes in energy awareness. The sources of conservation which are identified in analyses of this type are important for developing effective conservation policies.

Demand Analysis of Fresh and Frozen Finfish and Shellfish in the United States

AbstractHousehold expenditures for at‐home consumption on three species of shellfish and five species of finfish were analyzed. Factors explaining the variation of expenditures on seafood commodities were own price, household income, coupon value, household size, geographic region, urbanization, race, and seasonality. Own‐price elasticities ranged from −0.45 (flounder/sole) to −1.13 (oysters). Expenditures on fishery products were more sensitive to changes in household size than to changes in household income. Cross‐price effects of red meat and poultry were not statistically significant. For comparison purposes, estimates of own‐price, income, and household size elasticities from the literature were made with this set of elasticities.

Changes in Household Size and Composition due to Financial Incentives

Tax and transfer programs inevitably create incentives relating to the size and composition of households. Examples of such incentives are the marriage penalty dependents exemptions and the eligibility rules for categorical welfare programs. This paper notes that changes in transfer program parameters may encourage recipient households to import nonwage-earning individuals especially children and to export wage earners. Several hypotheses regarding the nature of such responses are derived and supporting evidence is obtained using data from three experimental income-maintenance programs. The geographic focus is on the United States. (EXCERPT)

Population during the Renaissance.

The author examines the demographic changes that occurred in Europe between 1300 and 1600, with particular reference to the changes brought about by plague epidemics and the Little Ice Age. Factors analyzed include changes in household size, clothing, and sex ratios. The gradual emergence of modern demographic conditions, after a period of severe fluctuations in population size, is noted.

Change in Household Size at Grasshopper

Changes through time in the size of cooking hearths are observed at Grasshopper. Using the construct of the domestic group, these changes are interpreted to indicate a decrease in the size of the household through time. Suggestions are made for testing this trend through the analysis of other domestic facilities and implements. The decrease in household size appears to depart from the ideal pattern of the developmental cycle. Hypotheses seeking to explain this departure indicate the important contributions that the analysis of the domestic group and its various subdivisions can make toward constructing models of cultural and behavioral change in the prehistoric Southwest. In recent years models of domestic groups and developmental cycles have been actively employed to explain architectural variability, organizational change and growth within prehistoric southwestern communities. Kemrer (1973) has investigated the developmental cycle of domestic groups at Kiet Siel (Dean 1969). At Grasshopper Reid (1973; Reid and Shimada, in press) has employed a developmental cycle model at the community level to describe pueblo growth while Rock (1972, 1973, this volume) has focused on the identification of domestic group boundaries and corporate activity structure in the archaeological record. Wilcox (in press) has incorporated these models into a general statement on the perception of prehistoric pueblo social groups at the Joint Site (Schiffer 1973). In pursuing these interests further, this paper presents preliminary results of investigation into changes in household size measured by changes in the size of domestic facilities at Grasshopper. These changes are discussed within the framework of domestic groups and evaluated in terms of departures from an ideal model of the developmental cycle of domestic groups. As an analytic construct first proposed by Fortes (1971), the domestic