Consumer expenditures and economic inequality : an econometric analysis
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1983.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to ProQuest Copy Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | The present dissertation describes an economic model designed to predict changes in the inequality in consumer expenditures, associated with trends in economic development. Special emphasis is given to expenditures since its counterpart, income, has been the object of extensive studies before. The theoretical model employed here possesses the double characteristic of being a multivariate distribution function of components of income and expenditures on commodities and, also, it represents a system of consumer demand functions for commodities, derived from the usual consumer's optimization problem. The way the model is specified allows the identification and estimation of the parameters which, in turn, allow us to obtain measures of concentration, or inequality, in expenditures on commodities. Time series data from 1947 to 1978 for Mexico and the United States is employed to estimate the parameters, and to formulate and test null hypotheses concerning the magnitude, sign and statistical significance of the parameters. The results show the dependence of inequality on economic development, and describe the evolution of inequality in both countries. |
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| Item Description: | "Major subject: Economics." Typescript (photocopy). Vita. |
| Physical Description: | ix, 116 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-115). |