摘要：Household expenditures on food are analyzed with the use of the 2000 household expenditure survey. A penalized spline model, which is a semiparametric model, is used to estimate the household food expenditure functions and Engel curves. The model allows a flexible relationship between household income and expenditures on food. Results suggest households with large family size, without farm income, and employed, married, aged and well-educated household heads are more likely to consume more than others. There exit thresholds of food expenditure, and the relationship between income and food expenditure is not necessarily monotonic.
