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Household Consumption Expenditures in Türkiye: Socio-Economic Determinants, Spending Patterns, and Policy Perspectives

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 467 - 483, 30.06.2025

Emre Yüksel , Dilek Başar

https://doi.org/10.30784/epfad.1661884

Abstract

This study investigates the socio-economic determinants of household consumption in Türkiye from 2005 to 2019, using the Marshallian demand function and a negative binomial regression model to address data overdispersion. Based on a uniquely constructed dataset combining Household Budget Surveys and regional Consumer Price Index, the analysis examines how income, education, household size, and demographic structure influence spending across expenditure categories. Results show that higher-income households allocate more to discretionary goods, while lower-income groups focus on necessities. Education is a key driver of spending on housing and human capital, with a nonlinear effect. Consumption rises with age and size but later declines, reflecting life-cycle and scale effects. In-kind transfers reduce direct spending, mortgage debt limits consumption, and single-parent households face greater financial pressure, unlike extended families who benefit from economies of scale. These findings underscore the complex relationship between socio-economic factors and consumption, offering policy insights into household welfare and inequality.

Keywords

Household Consumption Expenditures Socio-economic Determinants Demand Function Negative Binominal Regression Consumer Behavior

Ethical Statement

This study which does not require ethics committee approval and/or legal/specific permission complies with the research and publication ethics.

References

  • Acar, E.Ö., Günalp, B. and Cilasun, S.M. (2016). An empirical analysis of household education expenditures in Turkey. International Journal of Educational Development, 51, 23-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.03.007
  • Aksoy, A., Bilgic, A., Yen, S.T. and Urak, F. (2019). Determinants of household alcohol and tobacco expenditures in Turkey. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 40(4), 609-622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-019-09619-1
  • Alpay, S. and Koç, A. (2002). Household demand in Turkey: An application of almost ideal demand system with spatial cost index (ERF Working Paper No. 226). Retrieved from https://erf.org.eg/publications/household-demand-in-turkey-an-application-of-almost-ideal-demand-system-with-spatial-cost-index/
  • Bertrand, M. and Morse, A. (2016). Trickle-down consumption. Review of Economics and Statistics, 98(5), 863-879. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00613
  • Bulmuş, İ. (1980). Kırsal kesimde kişi başına gelir ve tüketim harcamalarının bazı mallar talebi üzerindeki etkileri. Ekonomik Yaklaşım, 1(2), 31–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.5455/ey.10013
  • Calvi, R., Penglase, J., Tommasi, D. and Wolf, A. (2023). The more the poorer? Resource sharing and scale economies in large families. Journal of Development Economics, 160, 102986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102986
  • Caspi, I., Eshel, N. and Segev, N. (2024). The mortgage cash-flow channel: How rising interest rates impact household consumption (SSRN Paper No. 4957048). https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.02445
  • Cheshire, L. and Forrest, W. (2021). Homes too large for household needs? Under-occupancy as policy problem and lived experience among older social housing tenants. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 33(1), 22-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2019.1626325
  • Dahan, M. and Sayag, D. (2024). Scarcity and consumption priorities. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 108, 102147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2023.102147
  • Fisher, J.D. and Williams, E.D. (2011). Home maintenance and investment decisions. Cityscape, 13(1), 147-164. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/20868775
  • Gül, H. (2019). Determining Turkish households’ tourism consumption expenditures in economic crisis. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), 7(1), 24-37. https://doi.org/10.30519/ahtr.456904
  • Hasanah, A., Apriliano, M.H. and Adam, A.M. (2023). The effects of cash and in-kind transfer by religious organizations on Muslim households’ expenditure: Indonesian family life survey 2014. Al-Tijary, 9(1), 27-38. https://doi.org/10.21093/at.v9i1.7261
  • Hoynes, H.W. and Schanzenbach, D.W. (2009). Consumption responses to in-kind transfers: Evidence from the introduction of the food stamp program. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(4), 109-139. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.4.109
  • Klocker, N., Gibson, C. and Borger, E. (2012). Living together but apart: Material geographies of everyday sustainability in extended family households. Environment and Planning A, 44(9), 2240-2259. https://doi.org/10.1068/a44594
  • Kneebone, R. and Wilkins, M.G. (2018). Social policy trends: Paying for the essentials: Shelter, food and energy consumption by household income quintile for 2010 and 2016. The School of Public Policy Publications (SPPP), 11. https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v11i0.53165
  • Malinowski, P. (2024). Determinants of healthcare expenditure: A cross-sectional analysis at the country level. Journal of Education, Health and Sport, 70, 55541-55541. https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2024.70.55541
  • Nişancı, M. (1998). Türkiye’de tüketici harcamalarının analizi: İdeale yakın talep sistem uygulaması (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Atatürk Üniversitesi, Erzurum.
  • Nişancı, M. (2002). Gelir grupları itibariyle harcama kalıpları: 1987-1994 Türkiye kentsel kesim verileri. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İktisadi İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 17(1). Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/deuiibfd/
  • Öztürk, M. and Aydıner Boylu, A. (2015). Investigation of economic activities of single parent families. Sosyoekonomi, 23(25), 93-112. https://doi.org/10.17233/se.13693
  • Redmond, G., Short, K., Praino, R. and Garner, T. (2014). Accounting for social transfers in kind (STIK) in a new poverty measure: A comparison of Australia and the US. Paper presented at the 33rd General Conference of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth. Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Retrieved from http://old.iariw.org/papers/2014/ShortPaper.pdf
  • San, S. and Chaloupka, F.J. (2016). The impact of tobacco expenditures on spending within Turkish households. Tobacco Control, 25(5), 558-563. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052000
  • Selim, R. (2001). The changes in the consumption expenditure patterns in Turkey: 1987-1994. Challenges for Business Administrators in the New Millennium, 1, 288-296. Retrieved from https://www.opf.slu.cz/
  • Şahinli, M.A. (2013). The Turkish demand for food. Electronic Turkish Studies, 8(8). http://dx.doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.5417
  • Şenesen, Ü. and Selim, R. (1995). Consumption patterns of Turkish urban and rural households in 1987. ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi, 22(2), 207–220. Retrieved from open.metu.edu.tr
  • Şengül, S., Şengül, H. and Lopcu, K. (2018). The participation decisions of household entertainment and cultural expenditures in Turkey. Business and Economics Research Journal, 9(1), 15-24. Retrieved from https://www.berjournal.com/
  • Sevinç, V. (2023). Analysis of the effects of residential characteristics on residential space heating costs in the United States of America with machine learning (SSRN Paper No. 4702976). https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3436055/v1
  • Song, Y. and Zhang, J. (2018). Living together with children and elderly: The impact of family structure on the consumption of migrants and residents in urban China. China Population and Development Studies, 2(2), 186-203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42379-018-0011-2
  • Tansel, A. (1989). An Engel curve analysis of household expenditure in Turkey 1978-79. ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi, 13(3-4), 239–257. Retrieved from open.metu.edu.tr
  • Tirivayi, N. and Groot, W. (2010). In kind transfers, household spending behavior and consumption responses in HIV-affected households: Evidence from Zambia (MGSoG Working Paper No. 2010/009). Retrieved from https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:910/wp2010-009.pdf
  • Travassos, G.F., Coelho, A.B. and Arends-Kuenning, M.P. (2021). Consumption patterns and demand in households headed by the elderly: Evidence from Brazil. International Journal of Social Economics, 48(5), 657-674. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-06-2020-0356
  • TURKSTAT. (2024). Household budget survey microdata set. Retrieved from https://www.tuik.gov.tr/media/microdata/pdf/hanehalki-butce.pdf
  • Yardım, M.S., Çilingiroğlu, N. and Yardım, N. (2010). Catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment in Turkey. Health Policy, 94(1), 26-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2009.08.006

Türkiye'de Hanehalkı Tüketim Harcamaları: Sosyo-Ekonomik Belirleyiciler, Harcama Desenleri ve Politika Perspektifleri

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 467 - 483, 30.06.2025

Emre Yüksel , Dilek Başar

https://doi.org/10.30784/epfad.1661884

Abstract

Bu çalışma, 2005–2019 yılları arasında Türkiye’de hanehalkı tüketimini belirleyen sosyo-ekonomik faktörleri incelemekte; veri aşırı yayılımını dikkate alarak Marshallgil talep fonksiyonu ve negatif binominal regresyon modeli kullanmaktadır. Hanehalkı Bütçe Anketleri ile bölgesel Tüketici Fiyat Endeksi verilerinin birleştirilmesiyle oluşturulan özgün veri seti, gelir, eğitim, hanehalkı büyüklüğü ve demografik yapının çeşitli harcama kategorileri üzerindeki etkilerini analiz etmektedir. Bulgular, yüksek gelirli hanelerin ihtiyari harcamalara daha fazla pay ayırırken, düşük gelirli grupların zorunlu harcamalara odaklandığını göstermektedir. Eğitim, konut ve beşeri sermaye harcamalarının belirleyicisi olarak doğrusal olmayan bir etki göstermektedir. Tüketim, yaş ve hane büyüklüğüyle birlikte artmakta ancak zamanla azalma eğilimi göstermektedir; bu durum yaşam döngüsü ve ölçek ekonomilerine işaret etmektedir. Ayni transferler doğrudan harcamaları azaltmakta, ipotek kredileri tüketimi sınırlamakta ve tek ebeveynli haneler daha fazla mali baskı yaşarken, geniş aileler maliyet paylaşımından fayda sağlamaktadır. Bulgular, sosyo-ekonomik faktörlerle tüketim davranışı arasındaki karmaşık ilişkiyi ortaya koyarak hane refahı ve eşitsizlik politikaları açısından önemli çıkarımlar sunmaktadır.

Keywords

Hanehalkı Tüketim Harcaması Sosyo-ekonomik Belirleyiciler Talep Fonksiyonu Negatif Binominal Regresyon Tüketici Davranışı

References

  • Acar, E.Ö., Günalp, B. and Cilasun, S.M. (2016). An empirical analysis of household education expenditures in Turkey. International Journal of Educational Development, 51, 23-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.03.007
  • Aksoy, A., Bilgic, A., Yen, S.T. and Urak, F. (2019). Determinants of household alcohol and tobacco expenditures in Turkey. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 40(4), 609-622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-019-09619-1
  • Alpay, S. and Koç, A. (2002). Household demand in Turkey: An application of almost ideal demand system with spatial cost index (ERF Working Paper No. 226). Retrieved from https://erf.org.eg/publications/household-demand-in-turkey-an-application-of-almost-ideal-demand-system-with-spatial-cost-index/
  • Bertrand, M. and Morse, A. (2016). Trickle-down consumption. Review of Economics and Statistics, 98(5), 863-879. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00613
  • Bulmuş, İ. (1980). Kırsal kesimde kişi başına gelir ve tüketim harcamalarının bazı mallar talebi üzerindeki etkileri. Ekonomik Yaklaşım, 1(2), 31–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.5455/ey.10013
  • Calvi, R., Penglase, J., Tommasi, D. and Wolf, A. (2023). The more the poorer? Resource sharing and scale economies in large families. Journal of Development Economics, 160, 102986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102986
  • Caspi, I., Eshel, N. and Segev, N. (2024). The mortgage cash-flow channel: How rising interest rates impact household consumption (SSRN Paper No. 4957048). https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.02445
  • Cheshire, L. and Forrest, W. (2021). Homes too large for household needs? Under-occupancy as policy problem and lived experience among older social housing tenants. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 33(1), 22-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2019.1626325
  • Dahan, M. and Sayag, D. (2024). Scarcity and consumption priorities. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 108, 102147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2023.102147
  • Fisher, J.D. and Williams, E.D. (2011). Home maintenance and investment decisions. Cityscape, 13(1), 147-164. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/20868775
  • Gül, H. (2019). Determining Turkish households’ tourism consumption expenditures in economic crisis. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research (AHTR), 7(1), 24-37. https://doi.org/10.30519/ahtr.456904
  • Hasanah, A., Apriliano, M.H. and Adam, A.M. (2023). The effects of cash and in-kind transfer by religious organizations on Muslim households’ expenditure: Indonesian family life survey 2014. Al-Tijary, 9(1), 27-38. https://doi.org/10.21093/at.v9i1.7261
  • Hoynes, H.W. and Schanzenbach, D.W. (2009). Consumption responses to in-kind transfers: Evidence from the introduction of the food stamp program. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(4), 109-139. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.4.109
  • Klocker, N., Gibson, C. and Borger, E. (2012). Living together but apart: Material geographies of everyday sustainability in extended family households. Environment and Planning A, 44(9), 2240-2259. https://doi.org/10.1068/a44594
  • Kneebone, R. and Wilkins, M.G. (2018). Social policy trends: Paying for the essentials: Shelter, food and energy consumption by household income quintile for 2010 and 2016. The School of Public Policy Publications (SPPP), 11. https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v11i0.53165
  • Malinowski, P. (2024). Determinants of healthcare expenditure: A cross-sectional analysis at the country level. Journal of Education, Health and Sport, 70, 55541-55541. https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2024.70.55541
  • Nişancı, M. (1998). Türkiye’de tüketici harcamalarının analizi: İdeale yakın talep sistem uygulaması (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Atatürk Üniversitesi, Erzurum.
  • Nişancı, M. (2002). Gelir grupları itibariyle harcama kalıpları: 1987-1994 Türkiye kentsel kesim verileri. Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İktisadi İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 17(1). Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/deuiibfd/
  • Öztürk, M. and Aydıner Boylu, A. (2015). Investigation of economic activities of single parent families. Sosyoekonomi, 23(25), 93-112. https://doi.org/10.17233/se.13693
  • Redmond, G., Short, K., Praino, R. and Garner, T. (2014). Accounting for social transfers in kind (STIK) in a new poverty measure: A comparison of Australia and the US. Paper presented at the 33rd General Conference of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth. Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Retrieved from http://old.iariw.org/papers/2014/ShortPaper.pdf
  • San, S. and Chaloupka, F.J. (2016). The impact of tobacco expenditures on spending within Turkish households. Tobacco Control, 25(5), 558-563. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052000
  • Selim, R. (2001). The changes in the consumption expenditure patterns in Turkey: 1987-1994. Challenges for Business Administrators in the New Millennium, 1, 288-296. Retrieved from https://www.opf.slu.cz/
  • Şahinli, M.A. (2013). The Turkish demand for food. Electronic Turkish Studies, 8(8). http://dx.doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.5417
  • Şenesen, Ü. and Selim, R. (1995). Consumption patterns of Turkish urban and rural households in 1987. ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi, 22(2), 207–220. Retrieved from open.metu.edu.tr
  • Şengül, S., Şengül, H. and Lopcu, K. (2018). The participation decisions of household entertainment and cultural expenditures in Turkey. Business and Economics Research Journal, 9(1), 15-24. Retrieved from https://www.berjournal.com/
  • Sevinç, V. (2023). Analysis of the effects of residential characteristics on residential space heating costs in the United States of America with machine learning (SSRN Paper No. 4702976). https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3436055/v1
  • Song, Y. and Zhang, J. (2018). Living together with children and elderly: The impact of family structure on the consumption of migrants and residents in urban China. China Population and Development Studies, 2(2), 186-203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42379-018-0011-2
  • Tansel, A. (1989). An Engel curve analysis of household expenditure in Turkey 1978-79. ODTÜ Gelişme Dergisi, 13(3-4), 239–257. Retrieved from open.metu.edu.tr
  • Tirivayi, N. and Groot, W. (2010). In kind transfers, household spending behavior and consumption responses in HIV-affected households: Evidence from Zambia (MGSoG Working Paper No. 2010/009). Retrieved from https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:910/wp2010-009.pdf
  • Travassos, G.F., Coelho, A.B. and Arends-Kuenning, M.P. (2021). Consumption patterns and demand in households headed by the elderly: Evidence from Brazil. International Journal of Social Economics, 48(5), 657-674. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-06-2020-0356
  • TURKSTAT. (2024). Household budget survey microdata set. Retrieved from https://www.tuik.gov.tr/media/microdata/pdf/hanehalki-butce.pdf
  • Yardım, M.S., Çilingiroğlu, N. and Yardım, N. (2010). Catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment in Turkey. Health Policy, 94(1), 26-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2009.08.006
There are 32 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Microeconomic Theory, Theory of Economy, Welfare Economics
Journal Section Makaleler
Authors

Emre Yüksel 0000-0002-3884-6795

Dilek Başar 0000-0001-6501-8760

Publication Date June 30, 2025
Submission Date March 20, 2025
Acceptance Date May 14, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 10 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Yüksel, E., & Başar, D. (2025). Household Consumption Expenditures in Türkiye: Socio-Economic Determinants, Spending Patterns, and Policy Perspectives. Ekonomi Politika Ve Finans Araştırmaları Dergisi, 10(2), 467-483. https://doi.org/10.30784/epfad.1661884
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