This paper considers the implementation of semiparametric methods in the empirical analysis of consumer demand. The application is to the estimation of the Engel curve relationship and uses the British Family Expenditure Survey. Household composition is modelled using an extended partially...

Pashardes (1991) and Banks et al. (1994) use parametric methods to estimate lifetime equivalence scales. Their approaches put parametric restrictions on the differences in within-period expenditure needs across household types, the intertemporal allocation of expenditure, and the shapes of...

Microdata concerning consumer demand typically show considerable variation in real expenditures, but very little variation in prices. We propose a semiparametric strategy for the consumer demand problem in which expenditure share equations are estimated nonparametrically in the real expenditure...

Past parametric tests of demand system rank employed polynomial Engel curve systems. However, by Gorman's (1981) theorem, the maximum possible rank of a utility-derived polynomial demand system is three. The present paper proposes a class of demand systems that are utility derived, are close to...