How much an expenditure for any item can differ in terms of the location such as a country that the expenditure was made. Countries have different tax laws, health care costs, transportation costs, housing and shelter expenditures, and others.
Data and Methods
This presentation will compare the 2009 Annual U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey published expenditure shares data to 4 other countries: Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Turkey. The countries were chosen based on geography and data availability. With the exception of Japan, this presentation compares U.S. total households to total household data in the other countries. Specifically for Japan, the comparison is for two or more person households.
An expenditure share is defined as the portion of a selected expenditure is compared to each country’s total expenditures for a given year. These shares do not fluctuate much over time and are more useful for identifying long-term spending trends than examining percent changes in expenditures from one year to the next. Below are some early results for the above named countries:
Results/Expected Results (by Country)
United States
Housing expenditures resulted in the highest share with 34.4 percent. This was followed by Transportation at 15.6 percent, Food at 13 percent and Personal insurance and pensions at 11.2 percent in 2009. Other notable expenditure shares were Healthcare (6.4 percent), Entertainment (5.5 percent), and Apparel and services (3.5 percent).
Canada
Personal income taxes represented the highest expenditure share with 28.4 percent of total expenditures. This was followed closely by Shelter with 27.8 percent. Transportation (19.2 percent) and Food (14.3 percent) were the next highest expenditure shares for Canada in 2009.
United Kingdom
The highest expenditure share in the United Kingdom in 2009 was Transport at 15.4 percent of total expenditures. This was followed by Recreation and culture (15.2 percent), and Housing, fuel, and power (15.1 percent). The lowest expenditure shares were Health (1.4 percent) and Education (1.8 percent).
Turkey
The highest expenditure share in Turkey in 2009 was Housing and rent at 28.2 percent of total expenditures. This was followed by Food and non-alcoholic beverages (23 percent) and Transportation (13.6 percent). The lowest expenditure shares were Health and Educational services (both at 1.9 percent).
United States and Japan (Two or more Person Households)
For two or more person households in the US, housing expenditures resulted in the highest share with 33.5 percent. This was followed by Transportation at 15.9 percent, Food at 13.2 percent and Personal insurance and pensions at 11.7 percent in 2009. These were very similar to expenditure shares for total households.
For Japan, the highest share of expenditures for two or more person households in 2009 was Food at 23.4 percent. This is followed closely by Other Consumption Expenditures at 23.1 percent. Further research is occurring to find out what is included in the Other Consumption Expenditures category. Other notable expenditures included Transportation and communication (13 percent) and Culture and recreation (10.7 percent).