Consumption Patterns and Family Life-Cycle. Some Evidence from Italy

As a social and economic entity the family is changing continuously. Changes in family size and composition have significant effects on the family decision making process. The Italian context is an interesting subject for research as a result of the impact of demographic and economic changes in the early 2000s on new family structures and economic behaviour. Furthermore, in Italy in contrast to the past, both men and women are aiming for job security and satisfaction before marrying and starting a family. In the light of that, it is particularly interesting to investigate if consumption behaviour changes along the life cycle stages. Considering different family life stages enables us to explore at each stage of the family life cycle (FLC) whether families differ in their consumption habits, needs and financial possibilities. An analysis of consumption behaviour over FLC is highly relevant in the period of the global economic crisis and the consequent great recession (i.e. 2011-2012). During this period Italian families experienced severe liquidity constraints which strongly affected their purchasing power. This study aims to explore whether consumption behaviour differs among families and how the decision making process changes over the family life cycle. To this end, micro data on the Italian Family Budget carried out by the Italian Office of Statistics was used for the years 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2012.