Distribution Of Household Consumption Research Articles

Changes in the distribution of household consumption in Southeast Asia

This paper uses household survey data from five Southeast Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) to examine changes in the distribution of per capita consumption over the period 2006–2014. We perform a decomposition analysis to study the factors that contribute to changes in per capita consumption at the mean and along the entire distribution. Our findings indicate that changes in per capita consumption over time are mainly driven by changes in household income, especially at the top of the distribution. We also find that a sizeable part of the changes in per capita consumption may be attributed to changes in the household size and educational attainment. Urbanization typically contributes to an increase in per capita consumption with exception of the Philippines, where urbanization has declined over time. The contribution of changes in demographic characteristics to changes in per capita consumption is generally positive but relatively small. Our findings highlight the importance of policies that aim to alleviate poverty by enhancing educational attainment and reducing fertility. These policies are particularly relevant in Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, where national fertility rates remain high.

Is Consumption Pattern Homogeneous in Pakistan? Evidence from PSLM 2007-08.

This study has analysed consumption behaviour of households across the four provinces of Pakistan using recent household survey data of 2007-08. It is found that the consumption patterns are not entirely homogeneous across all 4 provinces and also diverge across the urban-rural sectors within each province. The study has also examined the role of remittances in determining the level and distribution of household consumption expenditures, across all four provinces, by comparing the consumption behaviour of those households who received remittances versus those who did not. We found that households receiving remittances spent proportionately more on education in all provinces except Balochistan; while they spent proportionately less on food and drinks and transport and communication. In terms of the other expenditure categories, differential impact of remittances is observed across provinces.

Measuring absolute and relative poverty: The sensitivity of estimated household consumption to survey design

This paper illustrates that questionnaire design significantly affects estimates of household consumption and absolute poverty. In a between-groups designed experiment in El Salvador, longer, more detailed questions on consumption result in an estimate of mean, household consumption that is 31 percent greater than the estimate derived from a condensed version of the questionnaire. The distribution of household consumption from the long questionnaire first-order stochastically dominates the distribution from the short questionnaire over 96 percent of the range of the distribution. This difference in estimated consumption results in a measure of absolute, severe poverty from the short questionnaire that is 46 percent greater than the estimate derived from the long questionnaire. In contrast, the level of relative poverty is unaffected by the changes in questionnaire design. An implication of this paper is that modifications over time to questionnaires will result in spurious estimates of change in consumption and absolute poverty levels.

Women's employment, intra-household bargaining, and distribution: a two-sector analysis

This paper investigates the intra-household impact of an expansion in employment opportunities for women in a dual labor market, when the informal sector functions as a gateway to the formal sector. We us a variant of the Harris-Todaro framework with two-period overlapping generations to model this economy. Labor allocation decisions and distribution of household consumption are determined according to the generalized Nash cooperative bargaining solution, and agents have perfect foresight. It is shown that an increase in demand for women's labor can shift intra-household distribution in favor of men and thereby reduce women's welfare.

IS POVERTY INCREASING IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD?

We assess the developing world's progress in reducing poverty during the late 1980s using new data on the distribution of household consumption or income per person for 44 countries. Local currencies are adjusted to purchasing power parity. To assess robustness, restricted dominance tests are applied to the poverty comparisons. An overall decrease in poverty incidence is indicated over a wide range of poverty lines and measures. However the change is small, and numbers of poor increased at roughly the rate of population growth. The experience was diverse across regions and countries; poverty fell in South and East Asia, while it rose in Latin America and Sub‐Saharan Africa.