Household composition and adult-equivalent scales for food consumption expenditures in rural area of China
Yue Cui, Yongfu Chen, Guojing Li, Xinru Han, Jie ChenPurpose
Establishing adult-equivalent (AE) scales for rural household food consumption expenditures is crucial for policymakers to set unified benchmarks for living costs in rural China. This study aims to estimate AE scales for food expenditures, providing a standardized tool to capture structural differences in rural household consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data from 49,254 rural households across China, a Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator models expenditures across major food categories. AE scales are derived by gender, age, and income groups, with rural males aged 35–40 as the benchmark group (scale = 1).
Findings
At the category level, staple foods have a mean scale of 0.727, edible oils 0.682, aquatic products 0.670, dairy and eggs 0.645, meat and poultry 0.564. At the product level, flour and other grains record 0.752 and 0.738, pork 0.717, eggs 0.712, and beef and mutton lowest at 0.492 and 0.491. Male scales exceed female scales, with values among males aged 40–55: aquatic products 1.607, edible oils 1.398, legumes 1.394, and staple foods 1.354. Across the life cycle, scales rise to a peak and then decline, with females showing a rebound in old age.
Practical implications
The estimated AE scales provide a policy-relevant tool to calibrate household needs, support nutrition interventions, and improve welfare measurement and programme evaluation in rural China.
Originality/value
This study applies a PPML framework to a large rural sample to quantify AE scales and reveals systematic heterogeneity by gender, age, and income, offering evidence-based guidance for equitable rural policy design.