Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2020, 68(4), 797-806 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun202068040797

Consumption Function in the Context of Cultural Affinity Zones

Terézia Vančová, Luboš Střelec

Department of Statistics and Operational Analysis, Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Consumers' purchasing behaviour is affected at the microeconomic level by personal, psychological, situational, social and cultural factors. Beside the political and economic factors, culture with its beliefs, values, attitudes and traditions plays a substantial role also at the macroeconomic level in affecting national aggregate consumption, despite the recent phenomenon of globalisation. There is an evidence of excess sensitivity in European countries, which confirms that income change is a good predictor of consumption change. Clusters of European countries constructed according to single consumption functions correspond to some extent to the cultural affinity zones. Reactions (marginal propensity to consume) vary among formed groups of European countries and average consumption response is the highest in wealthier Western, followed by Central Europe and is the lowest in the South Europe. The results of this paper suggest that a stabilization policy may be more effective in an individualistic, hedonistic, rather a decentralised culture.

Keywords: consumption expenditure, cultural dimensions, disposable income, excess sensitivity of consumption, panel data models

Grants and funding:

Supported by grant No PEF_DP_2020030 of the Grant Agency IGA PEF MENDELU.

Received: March 30, 2020; Accepted: June 29, 2020; Published: August 30, 2020  Show citation