Models of the Structure of Consumer Spending

Forecasting estimates of the volume and composition of the population's spending and consumption fall into two major categories. One of them is based on the processing of data on the dynamics of money incomes on the whole as well as of spending on goods and services. This category is used to determine trends toward change in the volume and structure of consumer demand (for various goods and services) for a more or less extended period (10-15 years). The other category is based on the processing of data characterizing individual structural subdivisions in the population's money incomes and outlays. Most frequently, budget statistics data are used for this purpose. These data are used to establish changes in consumer choice by individual groups of the population — classified on the basis of their income level — as a result of increases in their money incomes. When the data on the population's money incomes and spending on various goods (or services) are processed for these various groups, the result is a picture of the volume and structure of consumption.