Estimation of adult equivalent scale for consumption expenditure of food and non-food items in rural and urban households in Amravati district

Introduction

India's economic growth and rising household expenditure have brought significant changes in food consumption patterns. Food expenditure remains a major component of household budgets and is closely related to nutritional security and household welfare. However, food requirements differ among household members according to their age and sex, making simple per capita expenditure an inadequate measure of actual consumption needs. The Adult Equivalent Scale (AES) provides a more realistic approach by assigning relative consumption weights to different age-sex groups, using an adult as the reference unit. It therefore accounts for differences in household composition and economies of scale in consumption. Regression-based methods are commonly used to estimate these equivalent weights when individual-level expenditure data are not available. The present study estimates adult equivalent scales for food consumption among households in Amravati District of Maharashtra, considering different age-sex groups and seasonal variations. The study aims to provide a better understanding of household food expenditure and the relative consumption requirements of family members, thereby offering useful insights into household welfare and resource allocation.

Methodology

The study was conducted in Amravati District of Maharashtra to examine household food consumption requirements using the Adult Equivalent Scale (AES). The study covered households from rural and urban areas and considered seasonal variations in consumption during winter, summer and monsoon. Primary data were collected through a pre-tested schedule using personal interviews with the selected households. Information on household composition, food consumption and expenditure was collected for the respective seasons.

Methods to estimating adult equivalent scale

In view of non-availability of data on consumption expenditure of specific item by the individual members of the household, the researcher in the past have used the regression analysis technique for estimating the specific expenditure weights for the various age -sex groups. In this study the data were obtained on actual consumption expenditure of food and non-food items taken together for family as a whole. The standardization of consumer units was done by using without / zero intercept regression technique.

Regression equation

Multiple linear regression analysis technique was adopted for estimating the consumer equivalent adult scale for the three main groups as well as total expenditure. The following form of regression model without intercept was fitted.

𝑋 𝑗 = 𝑏 1 𝑛 1𝑗 + 𝑏 2 𝑛 2𝑗 + 𝑏 3 𝑛 3𝑗 + 𝑏 4 𝑛 4𝑗 + 𝑏 5 𝑛 5𝑗 + 𝑏 6 𝑛 6𝑗 + 𝑢 The standard consumer units were selected as adult of 40 years and above. Thus, adult equivalent consumer unit scales are. The weighted household size was derived by using the consumer units so estimated as follows:

Where, W ig = specific adult equivalent scale for i th item commodity in the g th age-sex group. W og = expenditure adult equivalent scale common to all the consumption under g th age -sex group. w ig n gj and w og n gj are the standard household size corresponding to i th food item and total expenditure, respectively.

Will give per consumer unit (adult equivalent) consumption / expenditure on the i th item and per consumer unit total expenditure respectively for the j th household.

Conclusion

Computation of adult equivalent scale

In view of non-availability of the data on consumption expenditure of specific item by the individual member of the households, the researcher in the past have used the regression technique for estimating the specific expenditure weights for various age sex groups. ) for expenditure on total food (TF) during all three seasons varied between 80.21 and 95.23 per cent. On total non-food items (TNF) varied between 86.75 and 88.47 per cent and total items (TOT) varied from 88.65 and 90.65 per cent, respectively in rural households. for expenditure on total food (TF) during all three seasons varied between 86.71 and 90.47 per cent. On total non-food items (TNF) varied between 82.13 and 85.99 per cent and total items (TOT) varied from 75.41 and 83.54 per cent, respectively in semi-urban households. In the case of urban households, it was found that school-going children in the age group of 4-13 years accounted for the highest proportionate share of expenditure on both total food (TF) and total nonfood (TNF) items during the Winter and Monsoon seasons, with equivalence scales of 0.75-0.69 for TF and 1.31 for TNF in both seasons. For Summer, the same age group continued to maintain a prominent share, particularly in total expenditure (TOT), with a coefficient of 1.07, indicating sustained educational and related non-food expen-ditures throughout the year. Females in the age group of 20-40 years consistently showed higher equivalence scales than males across all three seasons for both food and non-food categories. Their relative weights ranged between 0.61 and 0.78 for TF and TNF, compared to 0.24-0.40 for males in the same age group. This indicates that adult females contribute a higher share to household expenditure, possibly reflecting differences in household roles and spending patterns. For total expenditure (TOT), school-age children (4-13 years) again ac counted for the largest share during Winter and Monsoon (coefficients of 1.41), followed by females aged 20-40 years. Pre-school children (0-4 years) also carried notable expenditure weights (0.66-0.74 for TOT across seasons), indicating significant costs at early childhood stages, particularly in health and basic services. An uneven trend was observed in total expenditure with respect to age groups, indicating that family members in the 4-13 year and 20-40-year categories together account for the largest shares of household spending in urban areas. This reflects the dual burden of education-related costs for children and non-food service expenditure for working-age adults in urban settings. It is evident from the table that adjusted coefficient of multiple determination (R 2 ) for expenditure on total food (TF) during all three seasons varied between 86.96 and 90.61 per cent. On total non-food items (TNF) varied between 72.12 and 82.57 per cent and total items (TOT) varied from 78.80 and 83.60 per cent, respectively in semi-urban households.

Conclusion

The study concludes that household consumption expenditure in Amravati District varies considerably according to age, gender, household type and season. The estimated adult equivalent scales clearly show that household size alone does not adequately represent the actual consumption requirements of family members. In the overall sample, school-going children aged 4-13 years recorded the highest scale for total expenditure, at 1.09 in winter and monsoon and 0.80 in summer, mainly reflecting education and related expenses. For food expenditure, males aged 20-40 years showed relatively higher scales of 0.81, 0.59 and 0.79 during winter, summer and monsoon, respectively. The regression models provided good explanatory power, with R 2 ranging from 83.47 to 90.31 per cent for food expenditure. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of considering the demographic composition and seasonal requirements of households while assessing consumption and welfare. Adult equivalent scales therefore provide a more realistic basis for comparing household expenditure and designing policies related to household welfare and resource allocation.

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