Construction of factor equivalence scales that consider patterns in the change of human development indicators of the Russian Federation

The present study is devoted to the construction of factor equivalence scales that take into account the patterns in the change of human development indicators of the Russian Federation. Based on the statistical data of the 2018 survey on income and expenses of 48.124 households, conducted by the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), a linear multiple regression model was constructed, variance analysis was performed, and a matrix of paired correlation coefficients of the most significant regression variables in the studied statistical data was calculated. The analysis of the calculated family ES for 2018 has shown that to increase the human development index, it is advisable to develop state measures based on the ES to eliminate socio-economic imbalances and uneven development of individual processes of the basic components of human development in the regions of the Russian Federation.

Income-dependent equivalence scales: A fresh look at German micro-data

Income inequality and poverty risks receive a lot of attention in public debates and current research. To make income comparable across different types of households, applying the “(modified) OECD scale” – an equivalence scale with fixed weights for each household type – has become a quasi-standard in research. Instead, we derive a base-dependent equivalence scale allowing for scale weights that vary with income, building on micro-data from Germany. Our results suggest that appropriate equivalence scales are much steeper at the lower end of the income distribution than they are for higher income levels. We illustrate our findings by applying them to data on family income differentiated by household types. It turns out that using income-dependent equivalence scales matters for applied research on income inequality, especially if one is concerned with the composition, not just the size of the population at poverty risk.

Estimating equivalence scales and non-food needs in Egypt: Parametric and semiparametric regression modeling

This paper investigated the appropriate specifications of Engel curves for non-food expenditure categories and estimated the deprivation indices of non-food needs in rural areas using a semi parametric examination of the presence of saturation points. The study used the extended partial linear model (EPLM) and adopted two estimation methods—the double residual estimator and differencing estimator—to obtain flexible shapes across different expenditure categories and estimate equivalence scales. We drew on data of the Egyptian Household Income, Expenditure, and Consumption Survey (HIEC). Our paper provides empirical evidence that the rankings of most non-food expenditure categories is of rank three at most. Rural households showed high economies of scale in non-food consumption, with child’s needs accounting for only 10% of adult’s non-food needs. Based on semi-parametrically estimated consumption behavior, the tendency of non-food expenditure categories to saturate did not emerge. While based on parametrically estimated consumption behavior, rural areas exhibited higher deprivation indices in terms of health and education expenditure categories, which indicates the need to design specific programs economically targeting such vulnerable households.

Income-(in)dependent equivalence scales and inequality measurement

Most equivalence scales that are applied in research on inequality do not depend on income, even though there is strong empirical evidence that equivalence scales are actually income-dependent. This paper explores the consistency of results derived from income-independent and income-dependent scales. We show that applying income-independent scales when income-dependent scales would be appropriate leads to violations of the transfer principle. Surprisingly, there are some exceptions, but these require unrealistic and strong assumptions. Thus, the use of income-dependent equivalence scales almost always leads to different assessments of inequality than the use of income-independent equivalence scales. Two examples illustrate our findings.

Impacto distributivo del gasto público en educación universitaria en España: un análisis de incidencia normativa para el nuevo milenio

This paper presents a Benefit Incidence Analysis for Higher Education public expenditure in 2000 and 2004, in Spain. As databases, the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) 2000 and the Living Conditions Survey (EU-SILC) 2004 are used. In this study, new and interesting methodological issues are introduced when applying the Benefit Incidence concept. In this sense, different equivalence scales are considered; besides, imputed expenditure is adjusted, taking into account different university education fields, gender issues and students’ original region. Results are offered following a double regional and national perspective, showing that this expenditure is more progressive and redistributive in Spain in the new millennium rather than during previous decades.