© Lívia Krajčíková, Mária Vojtková. Article available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence
ARTICLE
ABSTRACT
Household consumption behavior is a key indicator of the economic situation and social disparities in society. The aim of this article is to analyze the similarities and differences in the structure of consumption expenditure of various types of Slovak households in 2021 and 2022. The study also focuses on the impact of demographic factors on spending behavior, examining how households in different income groups allocate their expenses. To identify and profile individual household segments, we applied cluster analysis, which enabled us to distinguish homogeneous groups of households based on their spending patterns. The analysis was based on data from the Household Budget Survey, provided by the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic for scientific purposes. The results indicate that Slovak households can be divided into six main segments, with four segments displaying stable spending patterns over both analyzed years, and two where spending patterns varied from one of the studied years to another. The results emphasize significant differences between the expenditure structures of low- and high-income households, as well as among those of households with varying demographic compositions. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of Slovak households' consumption behavior and can be used in the development of socio-economic policies targeting various income and demographic groups.
KEYWORDS
households, Household Budget Survey, consumption, expenditure, cluster analysis
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