Research On Family Equivalence Scale Theory,measurement Method And Its Application In China

The equivalence scale is the conversion of the actual population size of households with different population structures into a standardized family population size based on a certain reference family.The equivalence scale fully considers the heterogeneity of consumption of different family members and the economic effects of family size.It gives different types of family members with different standardized values,which is used to explain the needs of different types of family members to achieve the same consumption level Relative amount budget deflator.Equivalence scale is widely used internationally in the measurement of inequality,poverty,and family welfare.Most developed countries,including OECD member states and EU member states,include equivalence scale as an important indicator in related welfare policies.In the formulation,the World Bank,the United Nations Agricultural Organization,and other agencies have also proposed that countries use the equivalence scale in the study of income distribution measurement.More and more developing countries such as Turkey and Indonesia also have household equivalent values.A lot of research has been done on the measurement of.However,our country does not pay enough attention to the research on family equivalence scale,so there is a non-negligible bias in our research in the fields of inequality measurement,family welfare level evaluation,poverty measurement and identification,and even tax policy evaluation.In the study of income distribution,per capita income and consumption are the most basic measurement indicators.The household consumption items in the existing micro-databases are often surveyed on the basis of households.Generally,household consumption needs to be converted to household per capita consumption for measurement based on the size of the family population.However,not every member of the household They have the same needs,and not all enjoy equal consumption.Due to the existence of family economies of scale,some public consumption can be shared by family members.At the same time,due to the heterogeneity of consumption preferences of different family members,the family size is caused when an additional adult,child,or elderly person is added to the family.Economic effects are often different.Therefore,the relative cost of living of different members of a family needs to be standardized and comparable with reference to the family.This is the problem to be solved by the familyequivalence scale.According to the design of the research content,this paper mainly does the following tasks:1.Clarified the theoretical connotation of family equivalence scale.The theory of family economies of scale is considered to be an important theoretical basis for the study of family equivalence,while the theory of household public goods is the root of the study of the effects of household economies of scale;the theory of consumer behavior is an important theoretical support for measuring the equivalent family size of households.And the theoretical derivation of consumer behavior provide sufficient theoretical preparation for constructing an appropriate model for measuring family equivalence scale.2.Systematized the measurement method of family equivalence scale from three aspects.Discuss the measurement method of the family size economy index,starting from the theory of household utility and demand elasticity,combining the characteristics of the family population structure,and using the Barten model to evaluate the increase in the size of the family population.Effect and overall household economies of scale.Based on this,the measurement method of family equivalence scale is explored,which is mainly developed from the near-ideal demand(AIDS)model and the quadratic near-ideal demand system(QUAIDS)model related to household consumption behavior.Structure variables,constructing a family equivalence scale measurement model.Finally,the scale-equivalent measures of children among family members are further expanded.From the perspective of food consumption,Engel's theory is used to derive a model for measuring children's equivalence scale.3.Combined with China 's national conditions,it is clear whether Chinese households have economies of scale.From different perspectives of household total consumption,household itemized consumption,and family population structure,it confirms the existence of economies of scale in Chinese households.The study provides a rich hypothetical basis and is the starting point for further discussion of family equivalence scale,that is,under the premise of the existence of family economies of scale,further measuring the differences in the effects of household economies of scale in different population structures,that is,the families after dividing the population structure,etc.Value scale study.4.In consideration of the actual situation of the declining family population in China,fully considering the heterogeneity of food consumption of different children'sfamily members and the effects of family economies of scale,the equivalence scale of children was measured with the aid of Engel's theory.Based on the perspective of heterogeneity of food consumption,the children's equivalence scale is generally lower than that of children in the family equivalence scale.The equivalence scale of children in the family reflects the minimum relative consumption level that can meet the basic living security of children.The research on children's equivalence scale based on the heterogeneity of children's food consumption has refined the family equivalence scale in China,which is an important supplement and extension to the measurement of the average family equivalence scale.5.On the premise of the existence of family economies of scale and the heterogeneity of family member consumption,based on CFPS micro-survey data,iterative nonlinear approximate uncorrelated regression estimation method is used to fully consider the different household members of Chinese residents.Heterogeneity and the economies of scale of public consumption goods have systematically measured the equivalence scale of Chinese households,and believe that the equivalence scale of different members of Chinese households varies widely.The family model in which the elderly,children,and adults coexist in China determines that the impact of newly added children and the elderly on family structure and family welfare cannot be ignored.China's unique family population structure determines the uniqueness of the Chinese family's equivalence scale.6.The specific application of family equivalence scale in China has been realized.The significance of family equivalence is considered from three levels.First,the household equivalence scale is applied to the most basic measure of inequality in income distribution.The Gini coefficient and Theil index are mainly selected to evaluate the impact of household equivalence scale on the measure of inequality,and the consumption inequality index is used to measure social welfare.Further study the important impact of household equivalence scale on poverty measurement,and prove that neglecting the family equivalence scale and ignoring the economies of scale effect of household consumption when measuring currency poverty will cause overestimation of poverty measurement indicators,leading to vulnerable groups Substantial deviations from the analysis results.Finally,the redistribution effect and fairness of personal income tax are studied.The family is used as the taxable object of personal income tax.The family equivalence scale is used to adjust the family exemption quota to calculate the personal income tax.The MT index is used to study the taxable object for the family.At the same time,the redistribution effect of personal income tax,and through the MT index from the perspective of horizontal fairness and vertical fairness to explore the fairness of personal income tax after combining the family equivalence scale.7.Based on the research conclusions,relevant policy recommendations are given.Based on the effect of family economies of scale,the basic construction of consumption should be strengthened.A multi-level maternity subsidy system should be constructed based on the equivalence scale of children.Social welfare policies and evaluation systems should be improved based on the equivalence scale of families.The research in this paper has three aspects of innovation: the first measurement of the effect of China's demographic family-based economies of scale,fully taking into account the important impact of population structure on household consumption,combined with the domestic family's labor population structure,to measure the effect of China's households' economies of scale,and Subsequent research provides a theoretical basis;empirical evidence based on nationally-level micro-level data covering a wide range of coverage and strong representation is used to measure the equivalent family size measurement method system of international frontiers,and comprehensively consider the family population structure of China and the consumption heterogeneity of different members.On the premise of the existence of the effect of household economies of scale,the first systematic measurement of the equivalence scale of Chinese households was implemented;and this paper discusses the application of family equivalence scale in China,including the revision of family welfare measurement,inequality and poverty measurement indicators,and the adjustment of individual income tax redistribution effect measurement.