Determinants of Expenditure Pattern of Rural Households in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State

Abstract

This study examined the determinants of expenditure patterns of rural households in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, analyzed the pattern of expenditures on food and non-food items in the study area, and estimated the effects of household characteristics on total expenditures in the study area.  A total of 120 questionnaires were administered and used for the analysis. Results obtained on the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents revealed that the majority of the respondents were between 41-50 years of age with an average of 45.5 years. As evident, results revealed that the males constituted the majority of respondents (75.8%).  The study findings showed that 83.3% of the respondents were married.  Also, findings revealed that the majority (55.0%) of the respondents had no formal education while about 3.3% of the respondents possessed either secondary or tertiary level education, respectively. The study results revealed that the two major religions (Islam and Christianity) in the study area were substantially represented in the study sample. The findings of the study revealed that the majority (55.0%) of the respondents had between one and four individuals as household members unlike the minority (3.3%) of the respondents who had between 9 and 12 or above 13 households taking residence. Findings showed that the majority (40.0%) of the respondents had more than 20 years of experience in their main occupation. Analysis of the respondents’ membership of cooperative societies revealed that the majority (54.2%) of them as members of cooperative societies. Results revealed that the vast majority (62.5%) of the respondents belonged to the Yoruba tribe. The factors influencing households’ expenditures in the study area are were age, sex, household size, main occupation, and religion. These variables significantly predicted the level of total expenditures among the study sample. Household size, main occupation (i.e being farmer), and sex (i.e being male) had a positive relationship with household expenditures while age and religion (or being Christian) had a negative relationship with the expenditure of the sampled households. The study recommended that household heads (males) need help, information, and enhancement of ways and the importance of generating more income in order to improve their households’ food and non-food expenditures.