SOME CONSUMPTION BOUNDARIES IN THE STANDARD FRAMEWORK DURING TRANSITION

Comparative to standard consumption based on the theory of permanent income within a functional, mature market economy, we have identified for the population’s households consumption in Romania during transition some boundaries in this respect: - Firstly, the existence of a completely imbalanced structure of expenditures having as dominant the food consumption; - Consequently, an exaggerated ratio between two large expenditure segments which we have designated as compulsory expenditure/optional expenditure, to the detriment of the second segment; - Finally, probably the most important feature was the high contribution on sub-periods (of incomes and monetary expenditures decreases) of selfconsumption in satisfying the consumption needs which triggered for a good part of them the satisfaction outside market transactions, selfconsumption building itself into a substitute of negative saving.