Consumption

Consumption

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IHDS asked a series of 47 questions about household consumption designed to estimate total household consumption expenditures (see the household questionnaire pages 19-21). These consumption questions were modeled on the short form of the National Sample Survey. The total expenditure is often used as the best measure of the household's current economic level. The first thirty questions, for more frequently purchased items, used a 30-day time frame while the remaining 17 items used an annual time frame. The variable, copc, reports expenditures on a monthly basis, so items co31-co47 were divided by 12 before being summed in the final variable.

Consumption is one of three basic measures of economic standing in IHDS. The others are household assets and income.

Total monthly consumption had to be calculated for the first fourteen consumption items from answers to the quantity and price questions (page 19 of the questionnaire). These totals are stored as co1x, co2x, ... co14x on the data file.

The first five consumption items (rice, wheat, sugar, kerosene, and other cereals) could be purchased in PDS (public distribution system) shops, purchased in the market, or (except kerosene) home produced. Total monthly expenditures for these items was calculated from the household's report of the quantity and price purchased from PDS shops plus the report of the quantity home-produced or purchased in the market times the reported market price. Market and home-produced quantities were calculated from the difference between PDS purchases and the total consumed.  

For the next nine items, the household could report either the quantity consumed and the market price, or the total value of the items consumed. Sometimes, interviewers reported all three values. In rare cases where all three values were reported there was a discrepancy (the total value did not equal the quantity times the price). In these cases IHDS used the quantity and price reports and disregarded the total value report.

The final consumption total was calculated as the sum of the constructed variables co1x to co14x, the monthly items co15 to co30, and one twelfth of the annual items co31 to co47. Items asked on annual basis, converted to monthly:

Variable Description Q Page Sect Q # Mean Std. Dev. Min Max % > 0
co1x Rice HH 19 12 1 327.6 293.9 0 7,200 96%
co2x Wheat HH 19 12 2 164.8 197.2 0 3,150 75%
co3x Sugar HH 19 12 3 78.4 86.1 0 2,200 94%
co4x Kerosene HH 19 12 4 42.6 48.7 0 900 82%
co5x Other cereals HH 19 12 5 34.8 99.6 0 7,750 32%
co6x Cereal products HH 19 12 6 43.6 72.3 0 2,000 63%
co7x Pulses HH 19 12 7 97.7 88.1 0 2,500 95%
co8x Meat HH 19 12 8 119.9 180.4 0 6,000 62%
co9x Sweeteners HH 19 12 9 27.7 49.8 0 2,336 56%
co10x Edible oil HH 19 12 10 153.1 109.8 0 1,800 97%
co11x Eggs HH 19 12 11 18 46.4 0 2,280 43%
co12x Milk HH 19 12 12 223.1 301.9 0 6,750 73%
co13x Milk products HH 19 12 13 66.8 217.4 0 20,000 39%
co14x Vegetables HH 19 12 14 209.6 197.8 0 9,000 96%
co15 Salt/spices HH 20 12 15 85.8 84.3 0 3,500 100%
co16 Other Food HH 20 12 16 75.7 96.8 0 5,000 92%
co17 Paan/tobac/intox HH 20 12 17 75.8 148 0 8,000 66%
co18 Fruits/nuts HH 20 12 18 58.6 109.6 0 5,000 62%
co19 Eating out HH 20 12 19 42.5 141.9 0 6,000 28%
co20 Fuel/Light HH 20 12 20 213.6 290.4 0 9,300 72%
co21 Entertainment HH 20 12 21 19.2 104.3 0 10,000 14%
co22 Telephone HH 20 12 22 89.2 260.2 0 12,000 38%
co23 Personal care HH 20 12 23 13.8 55.5 0 6,000 24%
co24 Toiletries HH 20 12 24 62.1 71.5 0 6,300 95%
co25 HH items HH 20 12 25 77.9 88.1 0 4,000 92%
co26 Conveyance HH 20 12 26 198.5 453.5 0 29,000 71%
co27 House/Other rent HH 20 12 27 56.5 316.8 0 14,400 9%
co28 Consumer tax/fees HH 20 12 28 25.4 300.7 0 30,000 20%
co29 Services servants HH 20 12 29 32.2 263.4 0 16,000 23%
co30 Medical out-patient HH 20 12 30 246.2 774.3 0 70,000 58%
co31x Medical in-patient HH 21 12 31 176.6 915 0 66,667 32%
co32x School HH 21 12 32 112 409.3 0 25,000 53%
co33x School books HH 21 12 33 66.6 165.3 0 7,083 58%
co34x Clothing/bedding HH 21 12 34 154 192.7 0 6,667 96%
co35x Footwear HH 21 12 35 38.7 57.5 0 4,167 94%
co36x Furniture/fixtures HH 21 12 36 10.5 90 0 8,333 11%
co37x Crockery/utensils HH 21 12 37 8.3 35.2 0 4,167 34%
co38x HH appliances HH 21 12 38 7.2 82.1 0 7,500 7%
co39x Recreation goods HH 21 12 39 13.4 100.6 0 7,500 9%
co40x Jewellery HH 21 12 40 43.3 337.8 0 25,000 12%
co41x Transport equipt HH 21 12 41 49.5 665.6 0 66,667 35%
co42x Therapeutic app HH 21 12 42 1.4 21.7 0 2,083 3%
co43x Other personal HH 21 12 43 9.1 93.5 0 7,500 19%
co44x Repair/maintenance HH 21 12 44 98.3 904.4 0 41,667 27%
co45x Insurance premiums HH 21 12 45 73.6 271.5 0 10,417 19%
co46x Vacations HH 21 12 46 16.1 97.6 0 6,667 17%
co47x Social functions HH 21 12 47 200.7 1,141.70 0 66,667 84%
copc Monthly per capita consumption HH 19-21 12 1-47 871 889.6 0 39273 100%

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