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The purpose of this paper is to examine the expenditure patterns of grey or older consumers with comparisons among different demographic groups to establish important factors in terms of consumption behaviour. The findings are of relevance in the context of marketing to older consumers.

Based on non‐probability quota sampling, 1,500 older people from three ethnic groups in eight geographical regions in Peninsular Malaysia participated in the survey.

Research results show that these consumers spent most on food, followed by rent, fuel and power in that order. These categories of items accounted for 67 per cent of their monthly expenditure, leaving relatively little disposable or discretionary income for other potential purchase decisions. With an exception of items such as healthcare expenses, and food and beverage away from home, there were hardly any significant differences in terms of monthly expenditure patterns among the grey market in Malaysia.

Limited to research in one developing country, i.e. Malaysia, whose population is showing aging patterns in the demographic mix, similar to those in advanced industrial/post industrial economies. The findings, and indeed the research approach, can be compared cross culturally.

Illustrates the value and significance of demographic variables in analysing a complex societal phenomenon. Also indicates the need for marketing strategies targetted toward this growing sector of the Malaysian economy.

The first paper to consider the marketing implications in research and practical terms to address issues of aging in developing economy. Research concerning older consumers (i.e. the grey cosumer market) is growing in academic and managerial importance.

It is the objective of this paper to elaborate determinants of food expenditure patterns for the generation 50+ in Germany on the basis of an Engel‐curve analysis.

Survey data for Germany are taken from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE) database. Food‐at‐home (FAH) expenditures of the generation 50+ are explained within a multiple regression analysis first. Then, a double‐hurdle approach based on the probit model and a truncated regression are utilized for reproducing the existence of food‐away‐from‐home (FAFH) expenditures and the share of FAFH expenditures on consumption expenditures across households. Available information on socio‐demographic variables, income and the health status of the respondents are introduced as regressors in the multivariate analyses.

FAH expenditures in the generation 50+ in Germany follow the theoretical expectations underlying Engel functions. With a rising income level, FAH expenditures increase as well but the income share of FAH expenditures declines as does the share of FAH expenditures in total food expenditures. Apart from income, the share of FAH expenditures in food expenditures rises with age, household size, and it is highest for the lowest education level. Moreover, it is higher for West than for East German households. Becoming a pensioner increases absolute FAH expenditures, but does not affect the FAH expenditure share significantly. Very different results are provided by the Engel‐curve analysis for food away from home. A rising income raises FAFH expenditures, whereas becoming a pensioner lowers it. The age variable is insignificant.

The estimated Engel curves suggest that food at home grows less with rising income than food away from home. In particular, the determinants of the per‐capita FAFH expenditures reveal important determinants of expenditures of the generation 50+ in a highly dynamic consumption category. The results have important marketing implications.

Despite the growing economic importance of the generation 50+ in industrialised countries, empirical evidence on how this age group behaves in its food expenditure pattern is often lacking. This study provides a first set of estimated coefficients from Engel curves for Germany. These show how income as well as sociodemographic and health variables affect per‐capita expenditures for FAH and FAFH consumption.

For the past two decades, economists, political scientists, and other public policy analysts have repeatedly lamented the lack of attention afforded the expenditure side of fiscal policy. Such concern has prompted numerous studies which have examined in great detail budgets of individual countries. Despite this renewed interest, surprisingly little has appeared in the area of comparative expenditure development. Cross‐country comparisons have traditionally employed cross‐section analyses while ignoring, except in rare instances, comparisons of time series data.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze differential consumption patterns of Pakistani migrant households resulting from foreign and domestic remittances.

Using the Working-Leser model and a number of matching techniques, the authors analyze a representative household survey carried out in 2010–2011 to compare various expenditure categories of recipient and non-recipient households across different income brackets.

Results show that foreign remittances lead to significant consumption changes. Contrary to the widely held view, remittances do not raise the budget share on consumer goods and recreation, while allocation on education increases substantially. Households receiving domestic remittances also reflect strong focus on human capital with significantly higher shares of health and education. Recipients of international transfers living below one dollar a day spend proportionally more on food compared with their non-recipient counterparts whereas their education and health budget shares are not dissimilar.

The positive effect of remittances on expenditures on human capital coupled with a lack of evidence suggesting an increase in the share of conspicuous spending resulting from remittances highlights the beneficial role that remittances play in a developing country.

Extant literature lacks consensus on whether migrant remittances should be treated as a temporary or permanent source of household income. In this study, the authors argue and empirically show that the two need not be mutually exclusive, and may co-exist depending on the nature of remittances and household characteristics.

This paper seeks to investigate the role of income‐inequality on the size of local government.

First, the paper extends the model proposed by Meltzer and Richard, allowing for spatial interaction in the redistributive in‐kind transfers from the local governments. Second, it estimates the determinants of the size in local government taking into consideration spatial dependence in the variables.

This model points that the poorer the median voter is, the higher should be the level of local public expenditures, but the spillover effect (spatial effect) in spending is undetermined. Second, using data on Brazilian states public finance, the results suggest a negative relation between expenditures (and tax revenues) and the median voter income, in favor to the model. While both public spending and tax rates exhibit negative spatial correlation (substitute goods), behavioral significance can be attached to the spatial process in public spending but not to the spatial process in the local tax rate.

The paper provides a small extension of the Meltzer and Richard model allowing for spatial interaction and contributes to the empirical debate about inequality and the size of the government presenting the results for Brazil.

The main objective of this paper is to analyze patterns of consumption expenditure and the effects of income, prices and socioeconomic and demographic factors on demand among elderly- and young-adult-headed households in Brazil.

The authors estimated a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System demand system using the main household consumption good groups – food, housing, clothing, transportation, health care and other expenses – with data from three Brazilian Household Budget surveys.

The study results showed that elderly- and young-adult-headed households have different consumption patterns. The consumption of food, transportation and health care was more price-sensitive for households headed by the elderly, while higher income increases health care expenses in elderly-headed households to a greater extent than it does in younger-headed households.

The limitations are due to the structure of the data used, such as the effects of seasonality and individualized demand analyses, and sample design in the estimates. However, due to the structure of the demand models, which when estimating by seemingly unrelated regressions do not allow to take into account the sample design.

As a consequence of population aging, the Brazilian economy will experience changes in the composition of household consumption, mainly for food, housing, transportation and health-care-related products.

This paper fulfills the lack of studies that analyze the consumption patterns and how demand varies across different types of elderly-headed households in a developing country, such as Brazil.

The question of whether military expenditures in the Third World in general and the Middle East/South Asia region in particular have been at the expense of national human resource development is addressed. The findings of a cross‐sectional analysis of public sector expenditure patterns in a large number of developing countries suggest that a simple “guns versus education” trade‐off model is too simplistic. Increased defence expenditures do sharply cut human resource development in countries with particularly high military burdens, especially in the Middle East/South Asia region. However, this negative trade‐off does not appear to be an accurate description of the process by which resources are allocated in the Third World in general.

The paper aims to examine changes concerning spending on personal care products and services, and socio‐demographic variations between households.

The data were derived from the Finnish Household Budget Survey from 1998 (n=4,359), 2001 (n=5,495) and 2006 (n=4,007) provided by Statistics Finland. The main analysis of personal care consumption was conducted by examining the purchasing costs of personal care products and appliances, and the amount of spending on personal care services. The differences in expenditure patterns are analysed according to the respondents' gender and age, level of education and income, and type of household.

The results indicate that household spending on personal care products and services has generally increased. However, the share of total consumption has not changed dramatically. The gender of the highest earner of the household along with household income is the key predictor of this type of consumption expenditure across all household types. The effects of these two variables have become stronger.

The data do not make it possible to differentiate between individual level and household level spending decisions across all household types.

Contrary to common belief, gender differences concerning personal care consumption have not diminished.

This study examines actual changes in personal care consumption according to socio‐demographic variables.