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Disposable Income (disposable + income)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	64%
Medical Sciences	23%
Humanities and Social Sciences	11%

Selected Abstracts

Robust International Comparisons of Distributions of Disposable Income and Regional Public Goods

ECONOMICA, Issue 303 2009
NICOLAS GRAVEL
The paper provides robust normative comparisons of 12 OECD countries based on their distributions of disposable income and access to two regional public goods: infant mortality and pupil,teacher ratios at public schools. Comparisons are performed using two and three-dimensional dominance criteria that coincide with the unanimity of utilitarian judgments taken over specific classes of utility functions. The criteria succeed in ranking conclusively about 30% of all possible comparisons in the two-dimensional case, compared with 67% for one-dimensional income-based comparisons and 6% for three-dimensional ones. Introducing local public goods seems to worsen the relative standing of Anglo-Saxon countries. [source]

The Take-Up of Multiple Means-Tested Benefits by British Pensioners: Evidence from the Family Resources Survey

FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2004
RUTH HANCOCK
Non-take-up of means-tested benefits among pensioners is of long-standing concern. It has assumed increased importance from October 2003 with the introduction of the new means-tested pension credit to which about half of pensioners are expected to be entitled. We use Family Resources Survey data from April 1997 to March 2000 to investigate patterns of pensioner take-up of income support (IS) (subsequently renamed the minimum income guarantee and now subsumed in pension credit), housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB). Although 36 per cent of pensioners in our sample failed to claim their entitlements to at least one of these benefits, only 16 per cent failed to claim amounts worth more than 10 per cent of their disposable income. Generally, take-up is high where entitlement is high. But there are exceptions which may reflect the claims process and/or a greater degree of social stigma associated with IS than with HB or CTB. [source]

Chinese Spatial Inequalities and Spatial Policies

GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 8 2010
Michael Dunford
In the last fifty years Chinese spatial inequalities have expanded in phases of industrial expansion and contracted in phases favourable to agriculture. Since 1985 real per capita disposable income and real per capita expenditure have increased rapidly in all parts of China. The increases were however much greater (i) in areas on the east coast than in the centre, northeast and west creating widening macro-territorial inequalities, (ii) in some provinces rather than others increasing inter-provincial inequalities and (iii) in urban areas rather than rural areas. These imbalances have seen the adoption of a succession of policies designed initially to promote a more equilibrated model of co-ordinated national development and more recently a more sustainable and more equitable development path consistent with the more recent emphasis on the goal of harmonious development. This paper examines the evolution and impact of these trends in inequality and policy initiatives paying attention to a variety of geographical scales. [source]

Does Government Spending Crowd in Private Consumption?

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 3 2005
Empirical Evidence for the Euro Area, Theory
In this paper, we revisit the effects of government spending shocks on private consumption which have been at centre stage of the macroeconomic policy debate for quite a long time. We conduct our analysis in an estimated model of the euro area, which is representative of a new generation of dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models usable for quantitative policy analysis. We show that the inclusion of non-Ricardian households, which simply consume their current disposable income, is in general conducive to raising the level of consumption in response to government spending shocks when compared with a benchmark specification without non-Ricardian households. However, we find that there is only a fairly small chance that government spending shocks crowd in consumption, mainly because the estimated share of non-Ricardian households is relatively low, but also because of the large negative wealth effect induced by the highly persistent nature of government spending shocks. [source]

Trends in disposable income among teenage boys and girls in Finland from 1977 to 2003

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 4 2007
Tomi P. Lintonen
Abstract This article explores changes in the money Finnish young people aged 12,18 years have at their disposal, over a 26-year period 1977,2003. Previous studies suggest that the amount of money young people have is not necessarily dependent on traditional socio-economic variables, but there are no systematic studies on the development of the disposable income of the teenagers. The analyses of this study are based on a series of 14 biannual nationally representative surveys of 12-, 14-, 16- and 18-year-olds in Finland from 1977 to 2003, with a total of 84 404 respondents. Time-trends are shown and analysed by gender, family structure, place of residence and socio-economic status of family using analysis of variance and linear regression modelling. The results show that teenagers' disposable money has increased little between 1977 and 2003 in comparison with the general income development. Economic booms and depressions can be seen in rising and falling amounts of disposal money, particularly among 16- to 18-year-old respondents. There were also significant differences between the genders. Young boys clearly had more money at their disposal than young girls. Children of single parents had more money than their peers from nuclear families. Urban youth had more money than those living in the countryside and the difference increased during the period under examination. The socio-economic position of the family had little impact. [source]

Eine Gabe an St. Nimmerlein?, Zur zeitlichen Dimension der Schuldenbremse

PERSPEKTIVEN DER WIRTSCHAFTSPOLITIK, Issue 3 2010
Friedrich Heinemann
We consider two scenarios: a proportional income shock and a shock on employment which increases the rate of unemployment. We find that automatic stabilizers absorb 38 per cent of a proportional income shock in the EU, compared to 32 per cent in the US. In the case of an unemployment shock 48 per cent of the shock is absorbed in the EU, compared to 34 per cent in the US. Under the assumption that only credit constrained households adjust current spending on consumption goods to current disposable income, the cushioning of disposable income leads to a demand stabilization of 26 to 35 per cent in the EU and 19 per cent in the US. There is large heterogeneity within the EU. Automatic stabilizers in Eastern and Southern Europe are much lower than in Central and Northern European countries. With respect to income stabilization, Germany is above the European average for both scenarios. Demand stabilization in Germany is weaker because the number of liquidity constrained households is below the EU average. [source]

Wie wirken die automatischen Stabilisatoren in der Wirtschaftskrise?

PERSPEKTIVEN DER WIRTSCHAFTSPOLITIK, Issue 2 2010
Deutschland im Vergleich zu anderen EU-Staaten und den USA
We consider two scenarios: a proportional income shock and a shock on employment which increases the rate of unemployment. We find that automatic stabilizers absorb 38 percent of a proportional income shock in the EU, compared to 32 percent in the US. In the case of an unemployment shock 48 percent of the shock is absorbed in the EU, compared to 34 percent in the US. Under the assumption that only credit constrained households adjust current spending on consumption goods to current disposable income, the cushioning of disposable income leads to a demand stabilization of 26 to 35 percent in the EU and 19 percent in the US. There is large heterogeneity within the EU. Automatic stabilizers in Eastern and Southern Europe are much lower than in Central and Northern European countries. With respect to income stabilization, Germany is above the European average for both scenarios. Demand stabilization in Germany is weaker because the number of liquidity constrained households is below the EU average. [source]

A healthy diet consistent with Australian health recommendations is too expensive for welfare-dependent families

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 6 2009
Christine Kettings
Abstract Objective: Examine the cost of healthy food habits for welfare-dependent families in Australia. Method: A seven-day meal plan was developed, based on Australian public health recommendations, for two typical welfare-dependent families: a couple-family (two adults, two children) and a one-parent family (one adult, two children). The cost of the meal plan was calculated using market brand and generic brand grocery items, and total cost compared to income. Results: In Australia, the cost of healthy food habits uses about 40% of the disposable income of welfare-dependent families. Families earning an average income would spend only 20% of their disposable income to buy the same healthy food. Substituting generic brands for market brands reduced the weekly food cost by about 13%. This is one of few economic models to include generic brands. Conclusion: Compared with average-income Australian families, healthy food habits are a fiscal challenge to welfare-dependent families. Implications: These results provide a benchmark for economic and social policy analysis, and the influence disposable income has on prioritising healthy food habits. [source]

Climate Change and the Economics of Farm Management in the Face of Land Degradation: Dryland Salinity in Western Australia

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2005
Michele John
Projected changes in climate would affect not only the profitability of agriculture, but also the way it is managed, including the way issues of land conservation are managed. This study provides a detailed analysis of these effects for an extensive dryland farming system in south-west Australia. Using a whole-farm linear programming model, with discrete stochastic programming to represent climate risk, we explore the consequences of several climate scenarios. Climate change may reduce farm profitability in the study region by 50% or more compared to historical climate. Results suggest a decline in the area of crop on farms, due to greater probability of poor seasons and lower probability of very good seasons. The reduced profitability of farms would likely affect the capacity of farmers to adopt some practices that have been recommended to farmers to prevent land degradation through dryland salinization. In particular, establishment of perennial pastures (lucerne or alfalfa, Medicago sativa), woody perennials ("oil mallees", Eucalyptus spp.), and salt-tolerant shrubs for grazing ("saltland pastures", Atriplex spp.) may become slightly more attractive in the long run (i.e., relative to other enterprises) but harder to adopt due to their high establishment costs in the context of lower disposable income. Les changements climatiques prévus influeraient non seulement sur la rentabilité de l'agriculture, mais aussi sur la gestion, y compris la façon de gérer les questions de conservation des terres. La présente étude offre une analyse détaillée de ces effets sur un système d'aridoculture extensive dans le sud-ouest de l'Australie. À l'aide d'un modèle de programmation linéaire d'une exploitation, comprenant une programmation stochastique discrète pour représenter le risque lié aux changements climatiques, nous avons examiné les conséquences de plusieurs scénarios climatiques. Dans la région à l'étude, un changement climatique pourrait diminuer la rentabilité d'une exploitation de 50 p. 100 ou plus par rapport au climat historique. Les résultats ont laissé supposer un déclin dans le domaine des cultures, en raison de la probabilité accrue de connaître des saisons médiocres et de la probabilité diminuée de connaître saisons exceptionnelles. Une diminution de la rentabilité des exploitations freinerait probablement la capacité des producteurs à adopter certaines pratiques recommandées pour prévenir la dégradation des sols par la salinisation des terres arides. Certaines pratiques, telles que l'établissement de pâturages de plantes fourragères vivaces (luzerne ou Medicago sativa), de plantes ligneuses vivaces (Eucalyptus) et d'arbustes tolérants au sel (Atriplex), peuvent devenir un peu plus attrayantes à long terme (c'est-à-dire, comparativement à d'autres pratiques), mais également plus difficiles à adopter en raison des coûts d'établissement élevés dans un contexte de faible revenu disponible. [source]

Region of birth, income and breastfeeding in a Swedish county

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 11 2009
T Wallby
Abstract Aim:, To study the relationship between maternal region of birth, disposable income and breastfeeding initiation and duration. Methods:, The study population consisted of 12 197 term born, singleton infants, born 1997,2001 in the county of Uppsala. Data on breastfeeding at 1 week, 6 months and 12 months were collected from the register of statistics of the Child Health Care Unit in Uppsala and socioeconomic indicators from Swedish national registers. Multivariate analysis was conducted using Cox regression. Results:, No influence of disposable income or region of birth on breastfeeding initiation was observed. Breastfeeding rates at 6 months were lower for mothers with disposable incomes in quartile 1,3 compared with mothers with the highest incomes in quartile 4 (hazard ratios (HRs) 0.88,0.90, adjusted HRs 0.92). The breastfeeding rates at 12 months were higher for mothers born in all regions compared with mothers born in Sweden (HRs 1.25,2.45, adjusted HRs 1.20,2.14). Conclusions:, The findings in the present study show that disposable income is a strong predictor for breastfeeding at 6 months in the Swedish context. Region of birth of the mother predicted long term breastfeeding, ,12 months. This calls for professionals in the maternity and child health care to pay extra attention to breastfeeding in low-income mothers in all ethnic groups. [source]

Housing Wealth, Financial Wealth and Consumption in China

CHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 3 2009
Jie Chen
E21; E32 Abstract The paper investigates the relationship between changes in asset wealth and the trend movements of household consumption in urban China. Using the vector error correction cointegration model, we demonstrate that there is a unique long-run cointegrating relationship between household consumption, disposable income, financial wealth and housing wealth in urban China. We find that housing wealth is the only factor that restores the long-run equilibrium relationship when the cointegrated system is disturbed by an external shock. In addition, our permanent,transitory variance decomposition analysis indicates that nearly all variance in the movement of consumption is permanent, supporting the classical random walk hypothesis of consumption behavior. However, a large proportion of variance in the short-run movements of housing wealth is found to be transitory. [source]

Debt as a source of financial stress in Australian households

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 1 2006
Andrew C. Worthington
Abstract This paper examines the role of demographic, socio-economic and debt portfolio characteristics as contributors to financial stress in Australian households. The data are drawn from the most recent Household Expenditure Survey and relate to 3268 probability-weighted households. Financial stress is defined, among other things, in terms of financial reasons for being unable to have a holiday, to have meals with family and friends, to engage in hobbies and other leisure activities, and general money management. Characteristics examined include family structure and composition, source and level of household income, age, gender and marital status, ethnic background, housing value, debt repayment of various types and credit card usage. Binary logit models are used to identify the source and magnitude of factors associated with financial stress. The evidence provided suggests that financial stress is higher in families with more children and those from ethnic minorities, especially when reliant on government pensions and benefits, and lower in families with higher disposable incomes and housing values. There is weak evidence that Australia's historically high levels of household debt cause financial stress. [source]

The importance of housing costs in cross-national comparisons of welfare (state) outcomes

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 2 2003
Veli-Matti Ritakallio
Mainstream comparative research on welfare policy outcomes has focused mainly on the role of government benefits and resulting distributions of income. From the point of view of the economic well-being of households, it is said that this narrow approach has produced results which have exaggerated the difference between continental western Europe and the New World. It has been argued that, to get fair results, comparative studies of welfare outcomes should take into account the differences in housing policies and structures of tenure. The ownership of private houses is more common in the New World nations than in Europe. Home ownership is thought to improve the economic well-being of the typical poverty-prone group, namely older people. This article tests how the cross-national picture of poverty and inequality changes when we approach the economic well-being of households on the basis of disposable incomes after housing costs instead of the traditional, purely income-based approach. The empirical analysis shows that, instead of vast differences in inequality, poverty and, in particular, old-age poverty, the real differences between Australia and Finland are only modest when housing costs are taken into account. [source]