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This paper offers to examine the decomposition of the consumption function of the male and female households in India. The decomposition of consumption function is explained by the socio‐economic and demographic variables. The dataset on the 61st round (2004–2005) and 68th round (2011–2012) of NSSO has been used for the analysis. The ordinary least squares (OLS) method is used to explain the important determinants of household consumption expenditure. Also, the Blinder–Oaxaca (B‐O) decomposition technique is used to estimate and to explain the difference of the per capita consumption expenditure of male and female households. The results find that age, household size, education, wages, occupation, and rural dummy are key determinants of the consumption function of male and female households. The results also found that the impact of education and occupation particularly in the service sector is relatively higher for female households than male households. Moreover, the results from the B‐O decomposition method are found that there is a positive gap of per capita consumption expenditure between male–female households in 2004–2005 and these differences are coming from differences of endowment effect between male and female households. But, the results from the year 2011–2012 data have shown that there is a negative mean difference in consumption expenditure of male and female households and this difference is coming from the differences of coefficient effect between male and female households. Finally, the results concluded that the per capita consumption expenditure gap is explained due to changes in education, occupation, and earnings of households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries like India, the majority of the workforce is informal. There is no specific study about the important factors that influence the consumption expenditure of informal workers working in urban areas. The purpose of this paper, thus, is to identify the determinants of the consumption expenditures of urban informal workers, and the same is explored with respect to migration and gender. In this regard, a primary survey was conducted at the household level of the informal sector workers following the method of multi‐stage stratified sampling. The method of analysis of variance and a binary logistic regression model is employed. The inferences of the study explained that the expenditure pattern of the informal worker depends on socio‐economic factors—age group, income level and essential commodities like milk, kerosene, oil and child education. The study also highlights the fact that the informal workers are dragged into the web of a vicious circle of poverty due to a higher level of consumption expenditure than income and demonstrates the effect of betel‐tendu leaf mini cigarette‐tobacco‐alcohol. Hence, it is desirable that the policymakers should frame a regulated subsidised pricing policy for essential commodities as well as increase the minimum wage rate in order to strengthen the basic consumption expenditure of the informal workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the sustainable consumption behavior of two emerging countries, China and India. The conceptual framework incorporates egoistic value, social consumption motivation, altruistic values (stimulus factors), pro‐environmental self‐identity, attitude (mediators and organism factors), sustainable consumption behavior (response factor), and environmental protection emotion as a moderating factor, using stimulus‐organism‐response theory. We collected 658 original survey data from China (n = 337) and Indian (n = 321) customers via convenience and purposive sampling methods and analyzed the data with structural equation modeling. Intriguingly, the results show that (a) stimulus factors such as egoistic and altruistic values and social consumption motivation had a positive influence on pro‐environment self‐identity and attitude and sustainable consumption behavior in both countries, (b) pro‐environment self‐identity had a positive effect on the attitude of both countries' consumers (c) while mediation factors (pro‐environment self‐identity and attitude) had a significantly positive mediation relationship between stimulus and response factors, and (d) environmental protection emotion significantly moderated the relationship between stimulus, organism factors, and response factors of two countries. The study contributes to the current body of knowledge in sustainable marketing by examining the rapidly growing phenomenon of sustainable consumer behavior in two Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the outcomes of an analysis on day by day task‐journey planning conduct of senior citizens by utilizing a modern dynamic model and a family unit travel overview, gathered in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, of India in 2018. The task journey planning display assumes a unique time–space‐constrained planning development. The main commitment of the article is to reveal day by day task‐journey planning conduct through a comprehensive dynamic framework. Numerous behavioural subtleties are revealed by the subsequent empirical model. These incorporate the role that income plays in directing outside time consumption decisions of senior citizens. Senior citizens in the most elevated and least salary classes will, in general, have minor varieties in time consumption decisions than those in middle pay classifications. Generally speaking, the time consumption decisions become progressively steady with expanding age, demonstrating that more task durations and lower task recurrence become progressively predominant with increasing age. Day by day task type and area decisions reveal a reasonable irregular utility‐amplifying level headed conduct of senior residents. Unmistakably expanding spatial availability to different task areas is an urgent factor in characterizing every day outside task interest of senior residents. It is likewise evident that the assorted variety of outside task type decisions decreases with the increase in age and senior citizens are more sensitive to auto journey hour than to travel or non‐mechanised journey hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues To review the burden of alcohol use in India, examine current policy initiatives and programs specific to India and provide a roadmap for future actions. Approach: A literature search was undertaken to review available published research papers, unpublished reports and anecdotal media information in the period 2000–2020 to assess the burden and pattern of alcohol use and appraise alcohol control policies in India. Key Findings: The per‐capita alcohol consumption among individuals aged 15+ years was 5.7 L, which increased over time. Prevalence of alcohol use varied across states with considerable impact on the nation. Regulatory policies and alcohol control programs vary across Indian states, with poor enforcement and implementation. Taxation and pricing policies are revenue oriented. Policies are needed to address the aggressive and innovative marketing strategies of the alcohol industry. The system for regular monitoring of alcohol burden and conducting alcohol policy analysis needs strengthening. Implications: Alcohol use and its public health impact would continue to increase in India in the absence of effective policy and programs; the country may not achieve its stated goal of relative reduction of alcohol use prevalence by 10% by 2025. Conclusion: The prevailing alcohol control policies and programs in India have been less than fully effective in controlling the burden of alcohol use and its associated impact. There is a need for comprehensive, evidence‐based and consensus‐driven national alcohol control policy to appropriately guide and support the Indian states in regulating alcohol and reducing the associated burden. Effective implementations of such policies are central to its success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the burgeoning of consumer culture and materialism on a global scale, a counter‐culture movement, namely, voluntary simplicity, is slowly gaining currency. Extant research reveals a degree of disparateness in the relationship between materialism and voluntary simplicity. Drawing on the value‐basis theory and anti‐consumption research, the current study attempts at an unorthodox study of the fledgling culture of anti‐consumption in urban India. The paper empirically examines the relationship between materialism and voluntary simplicity in India. This research, through an experimental study followed by a sample survey, conducted among urban Indian consumers, examines how satisfaction with life, self‐efficacy, and individualism interact with materialistic values to eventually influence voluntary simplicity attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 74 working professionals), we experimentally triggered materialistic aspirations and evaluated their effects on voluntary simplicity in comparison to a control condition. In Study 2 (N = 315), individuals self‐rated their materialistic values, satisfaction with life, self‐efficacy, cultural orientation, and voluntary simplicity attitude. Our study, contrary to the suggestions in the existing literature, demonstrates that materialists espouse voluntary simplicity attitudes when environmental degradation around them directly impacts their health, wealth, and well‐being. In addition to the positive direct effect, satisfaction with life and self‐efficacy serially mediate the relationship between materialism and voluntary simplicity, providing a welcome divergence from dark‐sided conceptualizations of materialism. Our results help global marketers, and public policymakers better understand the interaction between materialistic values and sustainable consumption attitudes, in the developing country perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on hitherto neglected fields of trends in the total consumption of the population in the Asian and Pacific countries and pays special attention to situations in India. In doing so it presents a comparative picture on the basis of four variants of the concepts as delineated in the Technical Report prepared by the United Nations Statistical Office. The proportion of government services in the total consumption of the population in the countries depended on socio-political arrangements and policy considerations. Over the years these proportions either increased or remained constant or declined as the situation developed. In the Indian context the paper deals in detail with the magnitude and proportions of each type of government service over the period 1960-79. Recognizing that it is the access to and not provision of the services which should rightly be considered, the Indian National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) during July 1980-June 1981 collected countrywide data from households on the benefit they received from public services in the field of education, health and public distribution of essential commodities. The data from the survey in conjunction with further work proposed by the NSSO should help in the preparation of quantitative estimates of benefit received from these services by various socio-economic groups in rural and urban areas. The paper touches upon the factors affecting personal consumption expenditure. It provides broad direction for future work on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Publicly provided goods and services influence household consumption levels. Consumption estimates based solely on private expenses are therefore biased. Given that we usually are unable to account for consumption from public provision, I argue that we often should ignore spatial price differences in inter‐household comparisons. The key reason is that prices and levels of public provision are likely to be positively correlated across space. I provide a simple framework to evaluate this, and I apply it to the measurement of poverty in India. The analysis reveals that a uniform poverty line might be preferable to the currently used price‐adjusted poverty lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a number of case studies from Tamil Nadu, this paper shows that bonded labour is not a relic of the past, but surprisingly contemporary. Refuting the tenets of the semi-feudal thesis, we argue that unfree labour can go hand in hand with capitalism, and that it can be initiated and sustained by capital itself in order to accumulate surplus value. Going against the tenets of the de-proletarianization thesis, we suggest that bonded labour is not always the preferred working arrangement for capitalism. Bonded labour should be examined in connection with specific historical contexts, the changing nature of the economy, the evolution of political forces and modes of socialization. I argue that bonded labour results from a specific regime of accumulation characterized by cheap labour, increased domestic demand sustained through household debt, as well as modes of conflict, contestation and worker identity formation that engage with both governmental programmes and consumerism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, the consumption of animal products has increased rapidly in China and India, driven by rising income and large populations. Such strong demand for animal products could have substantial impacts on both their own and global food and feed demand and supply. This paper examines the nature of rising demand for animal products in China and India and discusses national and global implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data on the production and usage of cotton, the paper develops estimates for the production and consumption of cotton cloth in India during 1795-1940, and based on these numbers, revisits three issues central to interpretations of economic change in colonial India. These are trends in levels of living, the correlation between production of textiles and consumption of textiles, and consumption of clothing in India in relation to the rest of the world. Average consumption of cotton cloth in India rose even as production declined, while real income grew more slowly, if at all, than the consumption of clothing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban residents in India face important health problems due to unhygienic conditions, excessive crowding and lack of proper sanitation. The private sector has started occupying the centre stage of the health system and households are burdened with increasing levels of health expenditure. This paper aims to study out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) and the extent of catastrophic payments for health care among households in a highly urbanised state, Tamil Nadu. The study used data on morbidity and health care for the year 2004 collected by the National Sample Survey Organization, India. Care was sought for 84 per cent of illness episodes in urban areas, and the majority used private sector providers (67 per cent for inpatients and 78 per cent for outpatients). Mean OOPE for inpatients and outpatients was higher for households with higher income. The average cost burden per visit was higher among those who sought care from private providers for inpatient services (29 per cent of household consumption expenditure) and outpatient services (20% of household consumption expenditure) compared with the burden associated with public health service use (3–4 per cent of consumption expenditure). About 60 per cent of households which used private health services faced catastrophic payments at the 10 per cent threshold level. To avoid catastrophic expenditure, greater use of the public sector which is providing services at an affordable cost is needed. Improving access to public health services, better gate-keeping systems, stronger controls on drug prices and increasing the quality of services are required to reduce the incidence of catastrophic expenditure both on inpatients and outpatients. Greater use of risk pooling mechanisms would encourage the poor to seek health care and also to protect households from all socio-economic groups from catastrophic expenditure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the data base available in four South Asian countries, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, for the examination of trends in real inequality and poverty. Taking the position that sample surveys of household income and consumption are the only really adequate bases on which size distributions of income for a less developed country can be constructed, the paper examines in Section I the reliability of the surveys available in the four countries. Section II evaluates available price data. Section III looks at directions for future development of data collection. The conclusion is reached that sample surveys regularly conducted in these countries do not provide a particularly good basis for this type of analysis. Needed alterations include permitting access to the primary data (or redesign of published tabulations to meet the needs of this type of analysis), use of per capita rather than total household income and consumption, better coverage of regions and occupations, and exploitation of the price data implicit in the survey data collected. Further, the surveys themselves need to be overhauled, especially with regard to timing of interviews. The paper concludes with a short discussion of alternatives to estimates of inequality that can be used to measure absolute deprivation, such as the QUAC stick for identifying nutritional insufficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For large economies with substantial regional variation, it is of great importance for policymakers and economic analysis that macro-economic statistics are broken down by region. This paper reviews the regional accounts in India, discusses their role in Indian federal and state policies, and provides new estimates to cover major data gaps. Statistics on domestic product by Indian state, broken down by industry, are regularly published. But despite demands and recommendations by various commissions and policymakers, a comprehensive system of regional accounts is yet to be developed. New estimates for the period 1993-2010 are presented for saving and the macro-economic expenditure by Indian states, like final consumption, capital formation, and trade balance. They show, for example, that some of the fastest growing Indian states have increased their saving and investment rates to 50 percent of their domestic product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the poverty reduction in terms of food subsidies through Public Distribution System (PDS) is an important means by which the income transfer between poor and rich expenditure classes can be analyzed. The study intends to analyze the impact of PDS on poverty on rural and urban regions. It also makes a comparative assessment between the subsidy transfers among the poor and rich expenditure classes of households. The data for this objective are adopted from 68th round of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report on PDS and other sources of household consumption (2011–2012). The impact of PDS on poverty is measured monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) decile wise by using income transfer method for major 17 states in the NSSO report. The impact of PDS on poverty is estimated through subsidy or implicit income transfer. The results of the study for all India across the rural and urban areas showed that the impact in terms of percentage increase in real MPCE is more for the poorest expenditure class in topmost MPCE deciles for all the states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ability to ensure 'safe food' for its populace is a key issue for developing countries from the public health perspectives. In recent years, there has seen some efforts towards generation of 'consumer awareness' through actions by non-governmental organizations and other research institutions. Using a primary survey data from India, this paper examines the link between consumer awareness and household and village level characteristics. We show that number of years of education of the household members, wealth status of the household along with village level infrastructural facility play a role in raising consumer awareness about food adulteration in domestic market. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of 'financial inclusion' has become a central trope that legitimates a wide range of contemporary development practices. By constructing a new object of development - the 'financially excluded' - it facilitates the expansion of an increasingly corporatized microfinance technocracy. The present paper problematizes the underlying binaries of inclusion/exclusion and formal/informal finance upon which this narrative is based. Through an examination of the 2010 Andhra Pradesh microfinance crisis, it demonstrates key contradictions within the discourse and practices of commercial microfinance. In so doing, it demonstrates why the narrative of financial inclusion and its correlate notion of 'consumption smoothing' are inadequate tools with which to conceptualize the political economy of contemporary agrarian change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This paper explores India's role in the world illicit opiate market, particularly its role as a producer. India, a major illicit opiate consumer, is also the sole licensed exporter of raw opium: this unique status may be enabling substantial diversion to the illicit market. Methods Participant observation and interviews were carried out at eight different sites. Information was also drawn from all standard secondary sources and the analysis of about 180 drug-related criminal proceedings reviewed by Indian High Courts and the Supreme Court from 1985 to 2001. Findings Diversion from licit opium production takes place on such a large scale that India may be the third largest illicit opium producer after Afghanistan and Burma. With the possible exceptions of 2005 and 2006, 200–300 tons of India's opium may be diverted yearly. After estimating India's opiate consumption on the basis of UN-reported prevalence estimates, we find that diversion from licit production might have satisfied a quarter to more than a third of India's illicit opiate demand to 2004. Conclusions India is not only among the world's largest consumer of illicit opiates but also one of the largest illicit opium producers. In contrast to all other illicit producers, India owes the latter distinction not to blatantly illicit cultivation but to diversion from licit cultivation. India's experience suggests the difficulty of preventing substantial leakage, even in a relatively well-governed nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motorisation in Asia is soaring with rapid growth in incomes non-lin-early. Even though car ownership per 1,000 population is still low in countries like China, India or Indonesia, escalating number of cars is affected by GDP growth among other infrastructural factors in a non-linear manner. This quick growth in car ownership may represent a significant implication on road transport fuel demand. This paper forecasts the demand for road transport fuel in India. For this purpose, econometric models, based on time series data, are constructed as for a major factor affecting fuel demand in road transportation i.e. car ownership. Firstly the econometric car ownership model was attempted in this study, for projecting future car stock in India based on cross section time series technique. The car stock is modelled by using three functional forms, which are the logistic, quasi-logistic and Gompertz curves. However, to take into consideration countries with different income levels in that part of the world, these models were estimated by using pooled data of seven Asian countries (Japan, China, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and India). Then, a set of fuel consumption scenarios were developed in order to make forecast until 2030. These scenarios were generated by taking into consideration car stock, fuel efficiency and the average distance travelled in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thanks to the continuous implementation of liberalisation and reforms, the Indian economy has become a significant energy consumer. Further, the fast growing economy is expected to result in massive and unprecedented growth in energy consumption in India. This is sure to have important ramifications for the domestic energy sector, as well as global energy market. At the domestic level, this resulted in new discoveries of hydrocarbon resources. However, the growth in energy consumption is so high that the old, as well as newly discovered hydrocarbon resources would not be able to fulfil the growing demand for energy in the Indian economy. Hence, Indian economy would remain dependent on the global market for the supply of hydrocarbon resources. India has been adopting various strategies to manage her energy requirement and Natural gas is slated to play an important role in India's energy management. This paper therefore, attempts to study the importance of natural gas in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the resilience of distinctive local consumption cultures, this paper challenges some of the more sweeping claims that have been advanced in the name of ‘globalization’. Thinking about a ‘globalizing’ rather than a fully ‘globalized’ world encourages us to examine the deeply contested nature of the concept and to explore the geographically uneven nature of recent economic, political and cultural transformations. This paper approaches globalization as a site of struggle rather than as an established fact, emphasizing the need for empirically grounded studies of the impact of ‘globalization’ on consumer cultures in different geographical contexts. The paper examines the way that producers have ‘customized’ their products for different markets (drawing on evidence from China and South Africa). It then reviews case study evidence from three contrasting consumption cultures: consumption and ‘public culture’ in India, ‘consumer nationalism’ in China, and ‘artful consumption’ in Russia. The paper concludes by identifying some current debates and outlining some directions for future research, including a re-emphasis on consumption and material culture; an exploration of consumption as social practice; the delineation of commodity-specific consumption cultures; and some reflections on the political, ethical and methodological issues that are being raised in contemporary consumption research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taxes on fats and sugar-sweetened beverages are deployed in the developed world to encourage healthier diets. How effective might such fiscal instruments be in emerging economies? We evaluate the impacts of a subsidy for palm oil, introduced as part of the public distribution system in three Indian states. Using variants of the difference-in-differences approach, we find that palm oil consumption increased, particularly in rural areas, as a result of the subsidy, and traditional oils were displaced by cheaper palm oil. However, the intervention did not significantly alter overall edible oil consumption. These results are robust to different specifications, alternative estimation samples, and the exclusion of households who may have been potential beneficiaries of other interventions. Impacts were higher in Tamil Nadu than in other states, and were higher for vegetarian households in rural areas. There was only weak evidence of spillover income effects on other food groups. Given India's dual burden of malnutrition, our analysis suggests that fiscal policy interventions have the potential to effectively nudge consumer choices towards healthier edible oil consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a nationally representative longitudinal survey and both absolute and relative measures of mobility, we examine the differences in income mobility across social groups in rural India over 1993–2004 and 2004–2011. We find significant differentials in income mobility that mirror the historical Indian caste system hierarchy. Conditional on having similar rankings in base‐period income distribution, the Forward Hindu Caste households have the highest (lowest) probability of upward (downward) income mobility, followed by the Other Backward Caste, Scheduled Caste, and Scheduled Tribe households. Moreover, these differentials in mobility are only partially explained by differences in household characteristics. We find similar but smaller differentials in mobility across social groups in Urban India. We also find that urban population witnessed a higher (lower) upward (downward) mobility during 2004–2011 compared with rural population. Furthermore, we find similar differentials in mobility using consumption as a measure of well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the dynamics of consumption inequality among various occupational groups using household survey data from National Sample Survey (NSS). Three rounds of NSS data namely, the 50th (1993–1994), 61st (2004–2005), and 66th (2009–2010) were taken for the purpose of analysis. Various measures such as Gini coefficient, overlapping index, and raking matrices are estimated for the whole as well as the subgroups using ANOGI methodology. From the analysis, it is found that the level of overall inequality as well as the between‐group inequality is on the rise during the period of analysis. Further, the measures such as relative overlap index and ranking matrices give conclusive evidence that the difference between various groups in terms of consumption expenditure pattern is increasing over time. From the ranking matrices, it is seen that the last six groups, constituting households with occupation in the unorganized sector and low level organized workers falls below the 30th percentile of consumption expenditure distribution of the first group groups that consists of individuals holding to technical, administrative, managerial, and executive occupations. Worsening inequality across various occupational groups is a matter of concern, especially from the policy perspective. As economic growth without equitable distribution of income is not a desirable outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the nature of the relationship between formal agricultural credit and agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in India, specifically the role of the former in supporting agricultural growth, using state level panel data covering the period 1995-1996 to 2011-2012. The study uses a mediation analysis framework to map the pathways through which institutional credit relates to agricultural GDP relying on a control function approach to tackle the problem of endogeneity. The findings from the analysis suggest that over this period, all the inputs are highly responsive to an increase in institutional credit to agriculture. A 10% increase in credit flow in nominal terms leads to an increase by 1.7% in fertilizers (N, P, K) consumption in physical quantities, 5.1% increase in the tonnes of pesticides, 10.8% increase in tractor purchases. Overall, it seems quite clear that input use is sensitive to credit flow, whereas GDP of agriculture is not. Credit seems therefore to be an enabling input, but one whose effectiveness is undermined by low technical efficiency and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate stock market sectoral connectedness in India utilizing a time‐varying parameter vector autoregressive connectedness approach. Results show that stock market sectoral connectedness varies across time. Connectedness is strongest during the 2008 crisis, the double‐digit inflation and stock market crash of 2011, following the national elections of 2014, and the demonetization of 2016. Among sectors, consumers' spending, industry, finance, and basic materials are net transmitters of shocks, while information technology, fast‐moving consumer goods, health care, and telecommunications are net receivers. Findings can help formulate policies that alleviate sectoral imbalances and promote balanced growth. They are also useful for devising optimal portfolio diversification strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a peer effects model where mean expenditures of consumers in one's peer group affect utility through perceived consumption needs. We provide a novel method for obtaining identification in social interactions models like ours, using ordinary survey data, where very few members of each peer group are observed. We implement the model using standard household‐level consumer expenditure survey microdata from India. We find that each additional rupee spent by one's peers increases perceived needs, and thereby reduces one's utility, by the equivalent of a 0.25 rupee decrease in one's own expenditures. These peer costs may be larger for richer households, meaning transfers from rich to poor could improve even inequality‐neutral social welfare, by reducing peer consumption externalities. We show welfare gains of billions of dollars per year might be possible by replacing government transfers of private goods to households with providing public goods or services, to reduce peer effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present age is witnessing a rise in materialism and its sub‐traits such as possessiveness, nongenerosity and envy. Combined with a marked increase in habitual shopping, this trend has resulted in some degree of shopping addiction. There are scant studies on contribution of materialistic tendencies of consumers towards shopping addiction; therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of the sub‐traits of materialism (possessiveness, nongenerosity and envy) on shopping addiction. The role of hedonic shopping motives and self‐efficacy as mediators was also investigated. Data for the study were derived by administering a structured questionnaire to 423 young female consumers from the northwest region of India. The structural equation modelling technique was used to empirically evaluate the proposed model. The results confirmed that the personality traits pertaining to materialism have a significant impact on hedonic shopping motives and self‐efficacy, potentially triggering shopping addiction in young female consumers. The findings offer fresh insights for academicians, researchers and market practitioners into the impact of the materialistic attitudes of young female consumers on their buying habits. This study is unique as it provides an unprecedented holistic view of factors predicting the materialistic behaviour of young female consumers in fast‐growing, emerging markets and its impact on their consumption behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption accounts for more than 70% of GDP in both Pakistan and India and both countries face high debt to GDP ratio as well as current account deficit. Consequently, exchange rates are usually volatile and they directly affect major economic indicators in the respective countries. Therefore, this study examines the impact of the exchange rate and its volatility on consumption in Pakistan and India using the time series data from 1980 to 2018. The empirical models differentiate between real and nominal variables to isolate the impact of inflation pass‐through. The long‐run and short‐run relationships are identified using the autoregressive distributive lag cointegration method. The results show that real and nominal exchange rates do not have a significant relationship with consumption in Pakistan. Whereas, in India, an increase in real exchange rate increases consumption while an increase in the nominal exchange rate reduces consumption, indicating inflation pass‐through. The volatility of the real exchange rate has a positive relationship with consumption in Pakistan. In India, the volatility of the nominal exchange rate has a negative relationship with consumption; showing the presence of inflation pass‐through effect in India. Our results show that domestic consumption in India is more prone to external shocks as compared to Pakistan, most probably due to a relatively higher degree of openness. Our results suggest that there is a long‐run relationship between exchange rate volatility and consumption in both countries and the stabilization of the exchange rate can improve the sustainability of consumption in both India and Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper associates inequality of opportunities with outcome differences that can be accounted by predetermined circumstances which lie beyond the control of an individual, such as parental education, parental occupation, caste, religion, and place of birth. The non-parametric estimates using parental education as a measure of circumstances reveal that the opportunity share of earnings inequality in 2004-05 was 11-19 percent for urban India and 5-8 percent for rural India. The same figures for consumption expenditure inequality are 10-19 percent for urban India and 5-9 percent for rural India. The overall opportunity share estimates (parametric) of earnings inequality due to circumstances, including caste, religion, region, parental education, and parental occupation, vary from 18 to 26 percent for urban India, and from 16 to 21 percent for rural India. The overall opportunity share estimates for consumption expenditure inequality are close to the earnings inequality figures for both urban and rural areas. The analysis further finds evidence that the parental education specific opportunity share of overall earnings (and consumption expenditure) inequality is largest in urban India, but caste and geographical region also play an equally important role when rural India is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a method of estimating spatial multilateral price index numbers from cross-section consumer expenditure data on different items using Engel curve analysis. The novelty of the procedure is that it overcomes the problem of data inadequacy, a problem that is shared by most of the developing countries. The procedure does not require item-specific price/unit value data and price index numbers can be calculated from consumer expenditure data grouped by per capita income/total consumer expenditure class in a situation where unit level data are not available. To illustrate the method, we use published state-specific data of the 50th round (1993-94) and 55th round (1999-2000) consumer expenditure surveys of India's National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) and calculate the spatial consumer price index numbers for 15 major states of India, with All-India taken as base, separately for the rural and the urban sector for each round. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of detection of Sudan dyes in chillies, the Spices Board of India formulated a mandatory testing programme in all chilli consignments exported from India. However, no surveillance data on use and levels of Sudan dyes in domestic chilli products are available in India. Hence chilli powders were monitored to check the magnitude of artificial coloration and the likely exposure assessment of Sudan dyes. Among 800 non-branded, loose chilli powder samples, over 66% were found to employ artificial colouration while only 33% were free from Sudan dyes. None of the branded chilli powder samples was found to contain Sudan dyes. The maximum content of Sudan I noted was as high as 11.8 mg g−1, which at the rough per capita consumption estimates of 0.5–1.0 g chilli powder per day amounts to an intake of 5.8–11.8 mg of Sudan I. This may lead to unwarranted health consequences, hence regular monitoring of the chilli powder samples is advisable to safeguard the health of unsuspecting consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates a social discount rate in India for the purpose of economic evaluation of investment projects, such as those aimed at improving the nation's agricultural performance. The component parameters of this rate are: the growth rate of per capita consumption in real terms, the elasticity of the marginal utility of consumption and the mortality-based discount rate. Based upon time series data, the overall figure turns out to be 5.2 percent. This, it is contended, is reasonable and may be used in cost benefit analysis in that country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, a radical shift has been observed in luxury consumption behavior, particularly in millennials who are increasingly inclined toward sustainability. There has been a tremendous rise in demand for services providing a non‐ownership model of consumption. However, hardly any study has focused on exploring the consumption behavior of the millennials for luxury fashion goods in the context of sharing economy. Hence, this research aims to examine the key drivers that affect millennials attitude and purchase intention of luxury fashion on rent. Data were collected via mall‐intercept questionnaire survey method from millennials in India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) who aspired to consume luxury fashion goods on rental basis. Statistical tests, including confirmatory factor analysis, multi‐group analysis, and structural equation modeling, were applied for data analysis. Furthermore, an integrated conceptual model based on self‐determination theory and theory of reasoned action is proposed to examine the key driving motivators that affect millennials' attitude and purchase intention of luxury fashion on rent in the UAE and India. The results reveal that significant differences exist across the nations. Experience value and identity projection value had a higher impact on UAE citizens than Indians. The current study is a pioneer study that attempted to understand the young consumer's attitude and purchase intention for luxury fashion rental consumption and examine differences and similarities of millennials across nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious doubts have been raised as to the validity of using cross-sectional estimates of the average propensity to consume over time. These doubts are based on empirical evidence for the United States presented by Kuznets and Goldsmith. This paper extends these considerations to developing countries by looking at the evidence for India. Simple statistical techniques, including ordinary least squares regression. Chow tests, and t-tests, are used in the estimation of the consumption functions and the formulation of hypotheses. Both India and the U.S. are seen to exhibit the same characteristic secular constancy in the average propensity to consume. For India the average propensity to consume is about 0.95 and is maintained in the face of no substantial secular increases in per capita income during the period under study (1919–1960). The same inconsistencies between time series and cross-section evidence on the average propensity to consume are found to exist for India. The permanent income theory suggested only a partial explanation of these inconsistencies and the reconciliation was achieved by a Duesenberry type explanation based on evidence for a shifting cross section consumption function over time. The data was provided by a set of Family Living Surveys for Industrial Workers: 1926, 1933–35, 1950–52, 1958–59. Finally it was noted that the cross-section consumption function in India had shifted both upwards and downwards over the period under study, in contrast to the strict upward shift for the U.S. In an economy such as India's, where secular growth is by no means assured, it is not always likely that consumers can avoid lowering previously achieved consumption standards in the face of cyclical economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an attempt to examine the applicability of the relative income hypothesis (RIH) in terms of its various specifications proposed by Duesenberry, Duesenberry, Eckstein and Fromm (DEF), Davis and the authors (MD). Using the time series data for 1951 through 1968 the analysis has been carried out for Canada, Finland, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Philippines, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. It is found that RIH provides a fairly good representation of the consumption behaviour of all the countries included in the study. All specifications, however, do not perform equally well. DEF and Davis functions score the maximum points; MD comes at par with DEF in case of Finland, Guatemala, and India. The original Duesenberry specification performs very poorly. This lends us to conclude that the process of habit formation is continuous contrary to what is implied by Duesenberry's original specification and that consumption is a better indicator of the standard of living than income is. Estimates of the long-run marginal propensities to consume are essentially the same as those computed from the permanent income hypothesis by Singh and Drost [1970]. This lends support to the view that the two hypotheses have essentially the same long-run implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent issue of the Review of Income and Wealth[1], Uma Datta Roy Choudhury presented some results on consumption and saving functions in India. While the study is interesting, some of the results are quite peculiar. Thus she reports a marginal propensity to save of 0.88 for the urban sector, an abnormally high figure. Other available evidence points to a much lower figure. Again she reports a negative marginal propensity to consume out of permanent income for urban households. This makes no economic sense. Furthermore her attempts at explaining urban consumption behaviour are not very successful. In this paper, we shall show that these suspicious results are the consequences of the measurement and definitions of the variables, and the specification of the functions. Once these shortcomings are removed, we obtain more satisfactory and more plausible results. In the first section we present a critique of Mrs. Roy Choudhury's article. In the second section we present our results. The last section summarizes the conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does development affect food practices? The nutrition transition model correlates positively meat consumption levels with gross domestic product per capita, except in India. In this article, I analyze food diets in this country since the 1980s by mapping out households' practices in animal product consumption depending on their social positions. Applying multiple factor analysis on the Consumer Expenditures data of the National Sample Survey Office, I produce a relational model of food diet segmentation to overcome the dead ends of the nutrition transition model. Two structural dimensions are highlighted. The first one differentiates beef and nonbeef meat diets and relates to the symbolic capital of caste and religion. The second one opposes diets including animal products and without, depending on the amount of economic capital. The concept of temporal homology is introduced to show that the social structure remains stable over time. This denotes the importance of sociocultural norms in food practices rather than their weakening due to "modernization" and shows how these norms are key to understand food transitions beyond linear expectations drawn from economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the relationships between rural income distributions and changes in environmental conditions in southern, western and central India between 1994–95 and 2000–01. Other than the relatively rich, we find that all income strata benefit from an improved environment, and intermediate expenditure households benefit more than the very poor in absolute terms. Higher median consumption expenditures and “richness” are estimated to increase environmental decline, but we do not find a significant impact of income poverty on local environmental health. The results do not support the “poverty trap” conjecture, with environmental degradation driving expenditure reductions that promote offsetting aforestation (which benefits the poor). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data collected from rural India was used to examine the rules governing intrahousehold resource allocations. Testing for gender-age discrimination among household members using Deaton's (1989 ) method, results suggest a general bias favoring boys over girls in allocation of consumption goods, however, the findings are not always statistically significant. Intrahousehold resource allocation rules are then examined to see if such discrimination is based on the unanimous decision of parents. The novelty in our test on allocation rule are: (1) use of grandparental variables as extra-household environmental parameters (EEPs) in expenditure estimation, (2) derivation of a test of the unitary model that only requires EEPs, and (3) semi-formal use of survival status of grandparents in testing collective models. It is interesting that spouse's father characteristics are importantly correlated with greater mother and child goods expenditure shares, and smaller father goods shares. Their survival status matters, and this is stronger evidence for a collective as opposed to unitary model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the relation among agricultural output, inflation, and the distribution of consumption in rural India, using both the Singh–Maddala and Dagum families to model the entire distribution parametrically. Employing a benchmark case in which growth is distributionally neutral and idiosyncratic shocks are completely smoothed, and using a GMM-estimator to deal with potential simultaneity between output and consumption, we conclude that: (i) growth was not distributionally neutral; (ii) good harvests (relative to trend) yielded improvements according to first-order stochastic dominance; (iii) slow growth before 1980 went with decreasing inequality; (iv) accelerated growth thereafter tended to increase inequality, though yielding improvements according to first-order stochastic dominance; (v) consumption smoothing was incomplete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on oil exploration rights in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Latin America for China and India. With global oil production barely 1 million barrels over the global consumption rate of 81 million barrels a day, the surge in demand from China and India could eventually lead global demand to outstrip supply, causing fuel prices to shoot up beyond their recent highs of around $56 barrel. The impact of this on the global economy, particularly in developing countries that import most of their fuel, would be severe. The International Energy Agency says that for every one dollar increase in oil price, the global economy loses $25 billion.

A two-agent general-equilibrium model is developed for explaining the mix of wage payment between cash and kind among landowners and workers. Its focus is on how, in the absence of insurance instruments but in the presence of heterogeneous tastes and attitudes toward risk among agents, the payment mix between cash and kind can serve as a welfare-improving, risk-hedging device. The model is used to determine how this optimal mix of wage payment would be affected by changes in risk-aversion, consumption preferences, technology, price risk, and production risk. While the complexity and nonlinearity of the model make it impossible to obtain clear-cut analytical results, simulation results are derived and shown to be rather robust. These results are also broadly supported by the findings of a small-scale survey of agricultural wage contracts in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employs a feminist commodity chain analysis to link polyester production to poonam sari consumption in India. Development of the notion of subjects in perplexity; Consumption as a global ecumene and a contradictory site for the formation of subjects; Argument that the perplexity of the consuming subject is a useful site from which to evaluate feminist approaches adopting a transnational perspective on consumption.

Abstract This article examines the colonial and post-colonial histories of gender, labor and alcohol production and consumption in the tea plantations of North Bengal, India. It argues that the symbolic and metaphoric constructions of primitivism within a - wider imperial narrative provides one backdrop for an exploration of the symbolic and material histories of labor and alcohol politics in the plantation. The essay moves between different historical periods and languages, highlighting the interconnections between the semantic and bodily practices, which continue to index the gendered and racialized labor politics of contemporary tea plantations. It ends with a contemporary ethnographic examination of women's protest around the “liquor business” in the postcolonial plantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-period model is developed in which a risk-averse farmer uses off-farm labor to smooth consumption, leading to greater use of fertilizer. Fertilizer demand is shown to increase with the depth of the off-farm labor market. Controlling for exogenous weather risk, farmers use more fertilizer the lower the unemployment rate and the higher the share of nonagricultural work in total off-farm labor. The results suggest that off-farm labor markets and own-farm production may be complementary in risky production environments, so that policies which promote the depth of the off-farm labor market in low-income areas may also bolster farm productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the relationship of mortality and of food intake to the droughts in Maharashtra, Western India between 1970 and 1973. It attempts to determine whether the fall in consumption was a direct result of the shortfall in production brought about by the droughts, or whether there was a lack of effective demand brought about through falling employment and declining levels of real income. The article also examines how the famine affected different socio-economic groups in rural Maharashtra.