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Semiparametric base-independent equivalence scales and the cost of children in Switzerland

Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics volume 148, pages 1–35 (2012)Cite this article

Summary

How much additional income does a couple with two children need to be equally well-off as a childless couple? This question is important for public policy decisions on social benefits or child allowances. Since equivalence scales express the change in the cost required to attain a certain welfare level when the household size and composition varies, they answer this question. This paper provides semi-parametric estimates of consumption-based equivalence scales by applying the extended partially linear model to the Swiss Household Budget Survey 2000–2005. The results permit welfare comparisons across households and provide an indirect measure of the cost of children.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics, Helleveien 30, 5045, Bergen, Norway

    Aline Bütikofer

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  1. Aline Bütikofer
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Correspondence to Aline Bütikofer.

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The paper was written while the author was at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Without implication, I want to thank Michael Gerfin and two anonymous referees for their valuable comments. All errors are my own.

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Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Bütikofer, A. Semiparametric base-independent equivalence scales and the cost of children in Switzerland. Swiss J Economics Statistics 148, 1–35 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03399358

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