Economic Analysis of Quarterly Household Expenditures on Apparel

Abstract

and Apparel Management, University of Columbia, MD 65211. This study provides an updated view of factors affecting U.S. clothing demand. The effects of various socioeconomic and demographic variables on household expenditures for apparel were examined. A theoretical model explicitly acknowledging the durable nature of clothing was presented. In addition, quarterly expenditures over a one-year period were examined, accounting for variations due to seasonality. Data from the 1980-81 Consumer Expenditure Survey were used to estimate the expenditure functions. Income, the age and sex composition of the household, marital status, education, occupation, and sewing activity were found to significantly affect household apparel expenditures.Apparel items, along with food and shelter, are considered to be basic consumer goods.Recent estimates indicate that Americans spent $164.3 billion on apparel and shoes in 1986. Over time, the absolute value of clothing expenditures has increased, white the relative value of clothing expenditures within the household budget has decreased. Expenditures on clothing and shoes comprised 6.0 percent of total personal consumption expenditures in 1986, compared to 7.2 percent in 1974(Courtless, 1987. This reflects the fact

Inter-regional Analysis of Household Apparel Expenditures in the United States

“…Given the reliance of these studies on economic theory for a theoretical framework, some measure of income is typically included. As economic theory predicts, empirical support for a positive relationship between income (or total expenditures) and apparel expenditures was found (Dardis et al, 1981;DeWeese, 1993;DeWeese and Norton, 1991;Douthitt and Fedyk, 1988;Nelson, 1989;Norum, 1989Norum, ,1992Wagner and Hanna, 1983;Zhang and Norton, 1995). Total consumption expenditures, used in several studies to proxy income (Dardis et aL, 1981;Nelson, 1989;Wagner and Hanna, 1983), provide a better fit in models built for prediction purposes (Dardis et al, 1981).…”

“…Total consumption expenditures, used in several studies to proxy income (Dardis et aL, 1981;Nelson, 1989;Wagner and Hanna, 1983), provide a better fit in models built for prediction purposes (Dardis et al, 1981). The magnitude of expenditure elasticities tends to be greater than unity (Dardis et al, 1981;Nelson, 1989), whereas the magnitude of income elasticities tends to be less than unity (Dardis et al, 1981;Norum, 1989;Zhang and Norton, 1995). In addition to the income measure, a variety of socioeconomic and demographic factors, such as age, family size, education, occupation, and region, were included in the analyses.…”

“…During the past fifteen years, US clothing demand has received iucreasmg attention from academic researchers (Dardis et al, 1981;DeWeese, 1993;DeWeese and Norton, 1991;Nelson, 1989;Norum, 1989Norum, ,1992Wagner and Hanna, 1983;Zhang and Norton, 1995), Researchers measured income elasticities, explored the effect of family life cycle and composition, and analyzed the role of labor participation in clothing demand. Region, although included in many of the analyses, was not a primary focus of any of the studies.…”

Effect of Ageing on Household Demand for Clothing, Food, Housing, and Medical Care Commodities in Korea

“…Dardis~ 2J.. (1981), Chen and Chu (1982), and Norum (1989) found a negative relationship between c lothing expenditure and age. According to the findings of this study, elderly households also spent less on clothing than did younger ones.…”

“…Expenditure on clothing was negatively related to age. Norum (1989), who analyzed 1980-81 data, found that clothing expenditure of elderly hous eholds was lower than those of other age groups .…”