Household Consumption Structure Research Articles

Optimization of the Water–Energy–Carbon Nexus in the Residential Water Uses of Shanghai, China

Residential water use in urban areas directly affects household energy consumption and associated carbon emissions. Reducing residential water use through water saving can lead to substantial energy saving and lower carbon emissions. Household choices in water appliances and fixtures and water-use behaviors shape water consumption patterns. This paper presents a study in Shanghai, China, where the water consumption structure of households was analyzed through a comprehensive survey. In addition, a season-differentiated water–energy–carbon nexus optimization model with Monte Carlo simulation was built to minimize the costs associated with water and energy usage while maximizing carbon emission reduction. The survey data revealed Shanghai’s water demand structure, thereby highlighting the water-use influence in the city on urban household energy consumption and carbon emissions, which are affected by seasonal temperature variations. The results provide useful insights into the intricate relationships among water use, energy consumption, and carbon emissions at the scale of urban households.

Analysis of Green Transformation and Driving Factors of Household Consumption Patterns in China from the Perspective of Carbon Emissions

Over the years, the household sector has become the main source of carbon emissions. Thus, it is crucial to study the green transformation of household consumption patterns (HCPs) and its driving factors from the perspective of carbon emissions (CEs). This study used the Tapio decoupling method to analyze the green transformation of HCPs, employed the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) method to find the driving factors of green transformation of HCPs, and conducted marginal effect analysis to identify the marginal effects of the major driving factors of green transformation of HCPs, based on the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database from 2012 to 2018. It was found through statistical analysis that dominant types of direct HCPs included electricity and fuel, and dominant types of indirect HCPs included necessities, health, transportation, and education. The results of empirical analysis indicated that direct household consumption structure and the per capita residential area promoted the green transformation of HCPs, while direct household per square meter residential consumption and per capita net income inhibited it. Furthermore, other factors had varying positive or negative impacts on the green transformation of HCPs, depending on regions, income levels, and urban–rural areas. The results of marginal effect analysis suggested that the marginal effects of residential area on per capita household carbon emissions (HCEs) present a trend from increasing to decreasing, while the marginal effect of household income on per capita HCEs presents an increasing trend. However, the marginal effect of household size on per capita HCEs presents a decreasing trend only for the low-income group and the western region when household size increased from five to six persons. This paper enriches the research on the green transformation of HCPs, and provides references for the formulation of green transformation policies for HCPs in different regions, income levels, and urban–rural areas.

The Impact of Online Shopping on Household Consumption Structure in China

Amidst a rapidly evolving technological landscape and improved economic conditions, online shopping has seamlessly woven itself into the fabric of our daily lives, subtly reshaping household spending patterns. This comprehensive study delves deep into the profound influence of online shopping on the structures of family consumption, drawing insights from theories encompassing online shopping, family consumption, and various consumption categories. The primary focal point of this research revolves around the transformative impact of online shopping on consumption behaviors within Chinese households. Leveraging data from the 2018 China Family Tracking Survey (CFPS) and carefully controlling for variables such as age, marital status, education level, and health status, which reflect both family and individual economic characteristics, the study unravels a compelling correlation between online shopping and the enrichment of household consumption structures. To address potential concerns regarding endogeneity, instrumental variables and propensity score matching techniques are adroitly applied, further fortifying the premise that online shopping plays a pivotal role in advancing household consumption. This robustness reinforces the initial regression findings, providing a nuanced understanding of the evolving dynamics of family consumption in the digital age.

Determination of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Structure and Preferences of Households in Urban and Rural Areas: A Sample of Tuşba District of Van Province

Araştırmada, Van ili Tuşba ilçesinde kentsel ve kırsal alanda yaşayan hanelerin meyve-sebze tüketim yapısı ve tercihlerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın ana materyalini, Tuşba ilçesi kentsel (180) ve kırsal alanda (92) ikamet eden ve oransal örnekleme yöntemiyle belirlenen 272 haneden toplanan anket verileri oluşturmaktadır. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde frekans dağılımı ve çapraz tablolar kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada ankete katılan hanehalkı bireylerinin; %79.4’ü erkek, %20.6’ı kadın, ortalama yaşı 41.04 yıl, %37.9’u ilkokul mezunu ve ortalama hanehalkı genişliği 5.7 kişidir. Kentsel alandaki hanelerin; %80.6’sının, kırsal alandaki hanelerin ise %84.8’inin düzenli olarak meyve-sebze satın aldıkları, kentsel alandaki hanelerin aylık ortalama 521.47 TL, kırsal alandaki hanelerin ise 360.08 TL meyve-sebze tüketim harcaması yaptıkları belirlenmiştir. Kentsel ve kırsal alanda en fazla tüketimi yapılan sebze grubu yumrulu sebzeler iken, en fazla tüketimi yapılan meyve grubu ise yumuşak çekirdekli meyveler olarak tespit edilmiştir. Kentsel alanda hanelerin %55.0’inin, kırsal alanda ise hanelerin %79.3’ünün yeterli düzeyde meyve-sebze tüketmedikleri ve meyve-sebze satın alırken en fazla önem verilen faktörün “sağlık açısından güvenilir olmak”, en az önem verilen faktörün ise “ürün etiketleme” olduğu belirlenmiştir.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND CHANGES IN THE SIZE AND STRUCTURE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN POLAND

The aim of the article is to present the changes that have occurred in agricultural production during the COVID-19 pandemic. The subject of the research were the changes in household expenses, food exports and imports, purchases and the volume of agricultural production. The study covers the years 2017-2021, of which the years 2020-2021 constitute the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on GDP, the size and structure of household consumption, exports and imports of food, purchase of agricultural products and agricultural production, as well as prices of food products come from the Central Statistical Office. The study analyzed the structure and dynamics of selected values characterizing households and the agri-food sector. The results obtained indicate that changes in the functioning of the economy, as well as sanitary and administrative restrictions imposed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to an increase in the volume and value of agricultural production and to a change in its product structure. The greater beneficiary of this crisis situation was plant production, where the level of demand from households was relatively consistent with the intensity of the pandemic. However, a negative effect of the pandemic was an increase in the risk of conducting agricultural activities. Changes in consumer preferences related to changes in the severity of the effects of the pandemic and sanitary restrictions on the trade in food products have reduced the level of stability in running farms and exposed them to potential losses resulting from, among others, the inability to sell the produced production.

Relocation of hydropower immigrants and transformation of farmers’ energy consumption structure: an empirical study from western China

Based on the research perspective of hydropower migration, the energy consumption structure of farmers in western China was analyzed. The OLS, Probit, and propensity score matching models are used to empirically analyze the impact of the relocation of hydropower immigrants on the household energy consumption structure. The results show that: 1) Although the relocation of hydropower immigrants increases the energy consumption burden of farmers to a certain extent, it has a significant inhibitory effect on the quantity of energy consumption and can promote the improvement of the quality of energy consumption. 2) The age structure of the head of household is different in the impact of the relocation of hydropower immigrants on the energy consumption choices of the households. This difference has different effects on different groups and energy consumption structure, especially in the impact on the energy consumption quality of the households with duality. 3) For low-income households, the economic burden of improving the quality of energy consumption is still large, and income is still an important factor affecting the transformation and upgrading of the energy consumption structure of households. 4) Mechanism analysis shows that the relocation of hydropower immigrants can reduce the dependence of households on the quantity of energy consumption by affecting the increase of non-agricultural income and the decrease of agricultural income, but it cannot affect the quality of households’ energy consumption. 5) The moderating effect shows that the relocation of hydropower immigrants can enrich the information types and information elements of farmers, and coordinate the household energy consumption decisions affecting farmers from both digital information and traditional information, thus promoting the transformation and upgrading of the household energy consumption structure of farmers.

Changes in the socio-economic characteristics of households can decouple carbon emissions and consumption growth in China

The increasing consumption in developing countries poses a significant challenge to global climate change mitigation efforts. Understanding household characteristics is essential in exploring potential strategies to decouple carbon emissions from the increasing consumption. In this study, we utilized the multi-region input-output (MRIO) method to calculate household carbon emissions in China for the years 2012, 2016, and 2018. Using micro-level household survey data, we identified variations in carbon emissions among households with different economic levels and socioeconomic characteristics. Our analysis revealed that changes in household consumption structure and carbon intensity among households with improved economic levels, could result in a reduction of carbon emissions by 14 % to 19 %. Furthermore, households characterized by higher education levels, larger family sizes, and smaller housing units were found to generate lower carbon emissions per capita and per unit of consumption spending. By simulating household carbon emissions up to 2030, we identified three potential pathways to achieve decoupling: household economic upgrading, transitioning to low-carbon household characteristics, and reducing material consumption. Our findings indicate that even with a projected 75 % increase in per capita consumption volume by 2030, per capita household carbon emissions could still be lower than the levels observed in 2016. These results underscore the potential of consumption-focused policy measures in facilitating the decoupling of household consumption from carbon emissions.

A Study of the Impact of Mobile Payment on the Enhancement of Consumption Structure and Pattern of Chinese Rural Households

Amidst China’s economic transition towards high-quality development, the latent potential of the rural consumer market has been significantly unlocked, rendering the evolution of rural household consumption patterns a pivotal area of research. In this paper, we empirically investigate the influence of mobile payment on the transformation of consumption patterns within Chinese rural households, utilizing data from the China Household Finance Survey 2017 and China Household Finance Survey 2019. This study’s findings reveal the following key points: Firstly, mobile payment significantly contributes to the enhancement of the consumption structure within rural households. Secondly, the mechanistic analysis demonstrates that mobile payment plays a pivotal role in alleviating mobility constraints and optimizing the consumption environment, thereby facilitating the improvement of rural households’ consumption patterns. Lastly, the heterogeneity analysis indicates that mobile payment has a more pronounced effect on the upgrading of consumption structures among rural households with older household heads and higher education levels. In light of these findings, this paper suggests advancing the development of mobile payment infrastructure in rural areas, enhancing the proliferation of smartphones in rural regions, and bolstering financial education initiatives within rural communities.

Off-farm income promotes energy transition in the Pan-Third Pole cross-national region

The Pan-Third Pole region comprises multiple nations affected by climate vulnerability and energy inequality, wherein promoting energy transitions in rural households would provide a path to combat climate change. Identifying the factors that drive rural household energy consumption and the transition is important. This study performed a micro-survey of 1060 rural households in five countries in the Pan-Third Pole region and empirically analyzed the relationships between off-farm income, energy consumption, and energy transitions. The off-farm income of rural households was found to have a significantly positive effect (p < 0.01) on energy expenditure, indicating that energy expenditure increased with increasing off-farm income. Off-farm income has a significantly positive effect (p < 0.01) on the proportion of commercial energy but a significantly negative effect on the proportion of noncommercial energy. These results indicate that increasing off-farm income can adjust the energy consumption structure of rural households. Furthermore, a robustness check by substituting independent variables, instrumental variable method (IV), and propensity score matching method (PSM) provided strong evidence to prove the robustness of the results. The heterogeneity analysis showed that the effects of off-farm income on energy expenditure and transitions differed among countries, off-farm income had no significant impact on energy expenditure in Cambodia and Myanmar, but it worked for China, Nepal, and Thailand. Finally, policy implications are proposed to promote energy transition in the Pan-Third pole region: providing more full-time or part-time off-farm employment opportunities, employment assistance or skill training by local governments; increasing the pace of infrastructure construction to solve energy inaccessibility; multiple measures to promote the education and environmental knowledge.

Does digital finance promote household consumption upgrading? An analysis based on data from the China family panel studies

The relationship between digital financial development and household consumption has drawn much attention from both academia and policymakers. Previous studies have documented that digital financial development fosters the growth of household consumption expenditure, but little attention is paid to its impact on household consumption upgrading. Using China Family Panel Studies data and Digital Financial Inclusion Index, we examine the impact of digital financial development on Chinese household consumption structure. We find that the development of digital finance promotes household consumption upgrading. Liquidity constraints, payment convenience, investment efficiency and household risk-hedging ability are proven to be important channels in the mechanism. Our findings are robust to the dynamic GMM estimation and instrumental variable analysis. It is implicative that the government should devote more efforts to developing digital finance to promote consumption upgrading, and hence economic growth.

Amount of Compensation for Household Consumers of Electric Energy in the Case of Renewable Energy Sources Promotion

The promotion of the scenario which fully covers the electricity demand from renewable sources leads to an electricity price increase, mostly impacting poor population from the Republic Moldova. In order to decrease the Absolute Poverty Rate, the paper proposes a way to determine the appropriate allowances. Achieving the objective is hampered by the fact that the existing Methodology for calculating the Absolute Poverty Threshold does not expressly contain the component related to the expenses for the electricity services provided. Such an algorithm is proposed in this regard using the structure of household consumption by categories of consumption, available at distribution companies. The calculations showed that the promotion of the concept of covering the power demand from renewable sources does not significantly harm the payment capacity of household consumers, in terms of the 2020-2021 years costs.

Avatars of Censorship and the Human Condition in a Post-utopian Society

The promotion of the scenario which fully covers the electricity demand from renewable sources leads to an electricity price increase, mostly impacting poor population from the Republic Moldova. In order to decrease the Absolute Poverty Rate, the paper proposes a way to determine the appropriate allowances. Achieving the objective is hampered by the fact that the existing Methodology for calculating the Absolute Poverty Threshold does not expressly contain the component related to the expenses for the electricity services provided. Such an algorithm is proposed in this regard using the structure of household consumption by categories of consumption, available at distribution companies. The calculations showed that the promotion of the concept of covering the power demand from renewable sources does not significantly harm the payment capacity of household consumers, in terms of the 2020-2021 years costs.

Crowding-out effect of tobacco consumption in Serbia

BackgroundAlthough smoking prevalence and intensity in Serbia have decreased in recent years, expenditures on tobacco products still represent a significant portion of household budgets. As households have limited resources at...

Consumer finance and consumption upgrading: An empirical study of CHFS

This paper selects the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) for 2017, 2019, and 2021. It examines the differences in the effects of consumer finance play between rural and urban areas using the final screened 9,875 households as the research sample. It is found that household savings, insurance, and stock assets are positively related to household consumption expenditure and consumption structure upgrading; household consumption credit can promote developmental consumption expenditure, and the promotion effect of consumer finance factors is more evident for non-farm households.

Income Disparity, Consumption Patterns, and Trends of International Consumption Center City Construction, Based on a Test of China’s Consumer Market

In order to promote an upgrade of China’s emerging consumer market and build an international consumer center city, and after analyzing the heterogeneity of the household consumption patterns in 14 cities in the east, middle, and west of China according to the fifth income group, the QUAIDS model was used. This revealed that (1) China’s consumer cities still have a high tendency towards basic consumption, the proportion of development-oriented consumption is obviously low, and the consumption of enjoyment has not yet developed a large-scale market. (2) The characteristics of China’s “dual-consumption” market are obvious: the trend of the structure of household consumption upgrading in eastern cities was obvious, and structural factors have a significant impact on the upgrade of consumption; however, urban consumption in the middle and western regions is still in the stage of basic consumption, and the trend of structural upgrading is weak. (3) Significant differences in consumption were found among urban household groups in different regions: the income gap between the middle and western groups had a significant impact on the heterogeneity and imbalance in the consumption market; as a result, the heterogeneity of the upgraded structure of household consumption in the central and western regions was prominent. However, the income gap among the eastern cities had less influence on the imbalance in the consumption market, and the trend towards and upgrade in the consumption patterns showed good consistency.

Impact of COVID‑19 on household consumption in Russia

This paper investigates the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on household consumption patterns in Russia. We use household budget survey data, modelling the impact of household socioeconomic characteristics on consumption patterns. Additionally, we account for the regional heterogeneity of the severity of the quarantine measures. The results indicate a quantitative change in household consumption structure, but consumers’ behaviour patterns remain unchanged.

The Impact of Financial Literacy on Household Consumption

In this paper, the relationship between financial literacy and household consumption is empirically analyzed by using The Chinese Family Micro Database (CHFS), and the consumption structure of Chinese households is subdivided into survival consumption, development consumption and enjoyment consumption, respectively, to study the impact of financial literacy on different consumption structures. The mediating effect of credit constraint factors is studied and the moderating effect of digital finance is explored. The results show that: financial literacy has a significant impact on household consumption behavior, and financial literacy has a significant positive impact on different structures of household consumption behavior. Credit constraint plays an obvious mediating role between financial literacy and household consumption. Digital finance has a direct mediating effect between financial literacy and credit constraint and between credit constraint and household consumption, and has a significant moderating effect on them. Therefore, it provides reference opinions for promoting consumption from the perspectives of improving the financial literacy of residents and increasing the development of digital finance.

Evaluating carbon inequality by household type and income level across prefectures in Japan

Affected by income level, household type, and other socioeconomic factors, carbon inequality among households substantially differs across prefectures in Japan, thereby profoundly affecting the country's sustainable development. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the carbon footprint of different households on the basis of systematically grouped income levels and evaluate carbon inequality in all prefectures. Using the 2005 multi-regional input–output table of Japan, we identified detailed structures of household carbon footprint (HCF) across single- and multi-person households of different income levels in Japan's 47 prefectures. We elucidated carbon inequality across prefectures through the carbon footprint Gini coefficients of the aforementioned households. The results showed that substantial differences in HCF exist among prefectures, thus contributing to variances in carbon inequality levels. Multi-person households are currently the main contributors to Japan's HCF, but the contribution of single-person households has considerable potential to grow. Income level has the most direct influence on HCF, which considerably determines the amount and structure of household consumption. Changes in carbon inequality among prefectures indicate that the aggravation of income inequality widens the HCF gap among income groups—a situation inconducive to the reduction of per-household CF during climate mitigation.

The New Economic Era Analysis of the Structure System of Chinese Household Consumption Expenditure Based on the ELES Model.

In recent years, the new economy has entered a phase of rapid development and upgrading China's service consumption is driving the continuous optimization of the population's consumption structure. To realize the rationalization of the Chinese household consumption structure, the ELES model is used to analyze the structure system of Chinese household consumption expenditure. This article constructs the ELES model, divides the types of Chinese household consumption expenditure structure systems, establishes consumption expenditure function, analyzes the influencing factors of the consumption expenditure structure system, and obtains the analysis results from static and dynamic aspects. Based on the statistics of Chinese household consumption expenditure data in recent years, this article obtains the analysis results of the consumption expenditure structure system: the basic consumption demand and marginal consumption tendency of food are in the first place, and the consumption expenditure structure system has gradually changed into the development-type and enjoyment-type consumption mode. Through increasing the income of rural residents, guiding reasonable consumption concept, optimizing consumption environment, and so on, we can promote the proposal and implementation of the optimization of China's household consumption expenditure structure system to improve the rationalization of China's household consumption structure system.

Materials footprint of household consumption in China

AbstractChina has been witnessing profound changes in the consumption behaviors of its population during the last several decades. To better gauge the current consumption structure of Chinese households and investigate the burden exerted by consumption on resources, we calculated the household material footprint (HMF) in China within the individual consumption classification framework developed by the United Nations. HMF is the only life‐cycle‐based indicator adopted into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Four types of raw materials and 15 representative consumption divisions were analyzed in this research. The total HMF in China increased by 103% from 1992 to 2017, although the per capita HMF remains lower than the global average. The per capita HMF growth in rural and urban areas differs, with urban citizens consuming 2.8 more metric tons of resources than rural residents as of 2017. The HMF of all materials studied shows a rising trend, especially for metal ores, which underpins the real estate and auto industries. Food‐related consumption is the main contributor to the HMF in China, while consumption of housing and transportation has less proportion yet more growth potential compared with developed countries. This study adds to the literature of studies on the consumption behaviors and domestic demands of China and has further methodologically significant meaning for similar studies in other countries and practical value for policymakers. Overall, this study demonstrates that despite an upsurge in consumption behaviors and gratifying economic records, the incurred resource and environmental burden may fuel risks for sustainable development.