Household Consumption and Income Inequality

Vighneswara Swamy

Published: September 2021

This article seeks to explore the extent to which household consumption causes income inequality and addresses the questions: (i) is there a linear relationship between household consumption expenditure and income inequality? (ii) what is the causal relationship between household consumption and income inequality? and (iii) does household consumption impact differently on rural and urban income inequalities? The results provide evidence of rising consumption inequality causing rise in income inequality. The causality tests show the presence of a unidirectional causality flowing from household consumption to income inequality. The findings provide insights that macroeconomic policymakers can use to manoeuvre household consumption expenditure using appropriate policy instruments.