Changes in Consumption of Households during 1990-1997

Abstract

The article provides social statistics concerning the main changes in the consumption behavior of Czech households between 1990 & 1997. The description is based on a comparison with the situation & trends in countries of the European Union. The author uses the Family Budget Surveys data files that were weighted to assure higher representativeness of the research results. Different statistical procedures are employed to describe main shifts in the composition of household budgets on the whole & for different consumption items in the first stage, & according to different factors characterizing the household in the second stage. In the last part of the article, multiple regression & ANOVA analysis were applied to answer the question of the changes in the influence of different social indicators of households on the relative household expenditures. The author cannot confirm the hypothesis that 'meritocratic' factors (income, education) have strengthened & 'demographic' factors (family size, age or residence size) have weakened in influence for explaining the variability of four basic relative consumer items. The changes in consumption behavior have a transitional character rather than the character of long-term historical changes apparent in the countries of the European Union.