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Subject: search.filters.subject.Consumption (Economics)

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    Essays on dynamics of the housing market : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Nguyen, Thi Thu Ha
    As the largest proportion of a household’s wealth is invested in houses, a household’s saving and consumption is highly likely to be affected by the movement of housing markets. Economists are also very interested in housing price movements, due to its significant impact on general economic wellbeing and business cycles. The US housing collapse is commonly referred to as the trigger of the global financial crisis (GFC), leading to stronger demand from both the public and policymakers for in-depth analysis of housing markets. This thesis provides three empirical studies that aim to explore the dynamics of housing markets. The first essay analyses the relationship between immigration and housing markets with a focus on the regional differences within a country. Among the three housing market indicators studied (prices, rents, and price-to-rent ratios), the impact of immigration is found to be most strongly associated with rents and most weakly associated with prices. A negative relationship is reported between immigration and price-to-rent ratios, implying that in an overvalued housing market, the extent of deviation from equilibrium would have been even greater without immigration. Increased global financial integration as a result of improvements in the specification of trade, innovations in finance, and advances in information technology has led to increased connectedness between financial markets. Against this backdrop, the second essay measures the equicorrelation and connectedness between housing and oil markets. The results provide robust evidence of the existence of strong connectedness between these markets. The results also indicate that the connectedness is time variant, reaching its peak during the financial crisis. Among the studied markets, the US housing market is found to be the dominant shock transmitter, spreading shocks to the other markets. During the GFC period, the oil market operated as an information transmission mediator, conveying shocks from the US housing market to other OECD housing markets, particularly in the net oil importing OECD countries. The third essay focuses on whether capital gain in housing markets smooths consumption. The results indicate that the appreciation of house prices is an effective channel of risk sharing. Furthermore, the analysis of the consumption response to long-run output shocks in three developed countries (Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) provides evidence that Canadian residents are the most sensitive to permanent domestic output shocks and that the consumption patterns of Australian residents remain unchanged.
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    Expenditure patterns of Indonesian households before and after the 1997 economic crisis : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Agribusiness at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2006) Utami, Yulistiana Endah
    Indonesia is a developing country located in the Southeast Asian region and the fourth largest country in the world. Indonesia had a positive economic development, notably since the mid-1960s and this continued until the economic crisis in 1997. Development in the economic sector brings development in the social sector. Household expenditure is one of the social indicators used in a range of studies, particularly in the developing countries, as a common measure to assess living standards and poverty. Theories of consumption illustrate that when the economy surges, expenditure and income rise; and when the economy retrenches, expenditure and income fall. Therefore, changes in Indonesian economic development would be reflected in changes in the expenditure of Indonesian households. Furthermore, patterns of household expenditure can be used to symbolise the level of economic welfare of households, particularly in their buying capacity to meet their needs for living. In mid-1997, an economic crisis hit Indonesia and this negatively affected the country. Some of the major economic and social indicators showed that the rupiah (the Indonesian currency) fluctuated, the consumer price index climbed, poverty increased, unemployment rose and the price of rice (Indonesia's staple food) increased. By 1999, nearly two years after the 1997 crisis, the Indonesian economy began to demonstrate some signs of recovery, which was indicated by strengthened macroeconomic indicators. From 1999 onwards, GDP grew positively, inflation (CPI) went down, the exchange rate strengthened and food prices went down. Given the fact that Indonesia experienced an economic crisis in 1997, the general aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the 1997 Indonesian economic crisis on the economic welfare of households in Indonesia, with regard to their expenditure. There were three years (1996, 1999 and 2002) observed to represent the period before the economic crisis in 1997 (before 1997), the period initial adjustment of post crisis (1998-2000) and the period further adjustment of post crisis (after 2001). Five objectives were set out for the study as follows: • To examine changes in the Indonesian economy before and after the economic crisis in 1997. • To review the socio-demographic characteristics of Indonesian households. • To investigate changes in expenditure patterns of Indonesian households, in order to measure their buying capacity before and after the economic crisis in 1997. • To investigate changes in household expenditure patterns on different foods and non-food items, before and after the 1997 economic crisis in Indonesia. • To develop a typology of Indonesian households based on their expenditures. The data employed for analysis was from the SUSENAS (the national socio-economic survey) at household level conducted by the Indonesian Central Agency for Statistics (CBS). Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analytical methods were performed for the data analysis. The results showed that the economic crisis in 1997 led to the decline of the purchasing power of households in Indonesia. In the further adjustment of the post crisis (in 2002), their buying capacity level had improved, however, it had not reached their higher level before the crisis (in 1996). Food is a necessity expenditure compared to non-food. Indonesian households consumed more than 50 percent of their total expenditure on food, relative to non-food, indicating that the majority of Indonesian households are relatively poor. Necessity items included cereals and vegetables for food and housing, goods-services, health and clothing-footwear for non-food. Luxury items included meats, fruits, prepared food-drink for food and education, durable goods, tax-insurance and social activity for non-food. There were six types of Indonesian households identified, based on similarities in their expenditure. They were labelled from the 'very poor' type (T1) to the 'very wealthy' type (T6). These six types of households demonstrated different stages of expenditure patterns, moving from basic through to high non-basic expenditure. The very poor type represented about 70 percent of households in Indonesia. In conclusion, the Indonesian economic crisis in 1997 had a negative impact on households in Indonesia with regard to their household expenditures.
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    Urban consumption spaces and practices of women in low-income urban settlements : a case study in Khlong Toey, Bangkok : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Finlayson, Jennifer
    Consumption related research focuses strongly on the experiences of the Anglo-American middle classes, and less is known about what consumption spaces and practices represent to those living in developing countries. Low-income urban women in developing countries seem particularly invisible, and more especially so rural-urban migrant women. Using a qualitative approach, this thesis explored the role and significance of urban consumption spaces and practices in the everyday lives of low-income women living in Khlong Toey, Bangkok. Findings show that consumption practices represent more than provisioning, they are a way that women meet the families’ basic needs and demonstrate their care and strong connections for both their rural and urban families. Consumption practices contribute to the role that women have in making consumption related household decisions and active engagement in consumption promotes improving autonomy. The adoption of urban consumption practices affects both the women’s sense of belonging and their perception of fitting in to their urban environment. Furthermore, the adoption of urban ways by the women, including new ideals, behaviours and material goods are also exported back to their rural villages, subsequently improving women’s families’ social status and blurring traditional lines of social delineation that exist between rural and urban society. Consumption practices enable women to invest in their families’ futures. This thesis demonstrates that it is not only through women’s production that development outcomes are enabled, but through consumption as well. This is significant, as framed within development discourses, consumption contributes to women gaining autonomy within gender development; and consumption practices demonstrate provisioning and maintaining familial commitment within urban and rural livelihoods.