The table shows the percentage of expenditure on four sectors by adults and children in the UK in 1998.
A glance at the table reveals that there is considerable variation between adults and children with regard to consumption. Adult spending was mainly on food, whereas children allocated the highest proportion of their income toward electronic equipment, music, and videos.
In the group of adults, the data suggest that the highest percentage of spending was on food; women spent 39%, which was nearly three times that of men at 14%. By contrast, women’s spending on electronic equipment only 1%, significantly lower than men’s expenditure. Similarly, spending on videos was lowest for women, standing at 0.5%. However, all three adult groups spent an equal percentage on music, at 5%.
In the group of children, girls spent 40% of their income on music, which was 2% more than boys. On electronic equipment, 23% was spent by children, with 5% from girls’ consumption. For videos, both genders spent about 18% of their income. Meanwhile, food accounted for only around 10% of spending in total and by each gender.