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The Income Elasticity of Lottery: New Evidence from Micro Data

Author

Listed:
  • Levi Pérez

    (Department of Economics, University of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain, lperez@uniovi.es)

  • Brad R. Humphreys

    (Department of Economics, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada)

Abstract

The authors analyze consumer expenditure on the National Lottery in Spain, a popular game with over 100 draws per year and annual turnover of about three billion euros. Based on Tobit estimates using data from two nationally representative surveys, National Lottery players tend to be middle-aged married males with relatively low education. In contrast to previous research, the authors find a strong relationship between lottery expenditure and income, with estimated income elasticities of more than one. A parameter decomposition indicates that the effect of income on expenditure works through existing lottery players, not by attracting new players.

Suggested Citation

  • Levi Pérez & Brad R. Humphreys, 2011. "The Income Elasticity of Lottery: New Evidence from Micro Data," Public Finance Review, , vol. 39(4), pages 551-570, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:39:y:2011:i:4:p:551-570
    DOI: 10.1177/1091142111403620
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    11. Andrew Worthington & Kerry Brown & Mary Crawford & David Pickernell, 2007. "Gambling participation in Australia: findings from the national Household Expenditure Survey," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 209-221, June.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Tim Friehe & Mario Mechtel, 2017. "Gambling to leapfrog in status?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1291-1319, December.
    2. John Eakins, 2016. "Household gambling expenditures and the Irish recession," International Gambling Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 211-230, August.
    3. Giuliano Resce & Raffaele Lagravinese & Elisa Benedetti & Sabrina Molinaro, 2019. "Income-related inequality in gambling: evidence from Italy," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1107-1131, December.
    4. Thomas A. Garrett, 2012. "The Distributional Burden of Instant Lottery Ticket Expenditures," Public Finance Review, , vol. 40(6), pages 767-788, November.
    5. Thomas A. Garrett & Natalia Kolesnikova, 2015. "Local Price Variation and the Income Elasticity of Demand for Lottery Tickets," Public Finance Review, , vol. 43(6), pages 717-738, November.
    6. Edmund R. Thompson & Gerard P. Prendergast & Gerard H. Dericks, 2021. "Personality, Luck Beliefs, and (Non-?) Problem Lottery Gambling," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(2), pages 703-722, April.
    7. Taylor, Matthew P., 2016. "Are high-ability individuals really more tolerant of risk? A test of the relationship between risk aversion and cognitive ability," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 136-147.
    8. Humphreys, Brad R. & Perez, Levi, 2013. "Syndicated play in lottery games," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 124-131.
    9. Levi Pérez & à lvaro Muñiz, 2021. "The income elasticity of lottery revisited: a worldwide perspective," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 403-407.
    10. Humphreys, Brad R. & Perez, Levi, 2012. "Who Bets on Sports? Characteristics of Sports Bettors and the Consequences of Expanding Sports Betting Opportunities/¿Quién apuesta? Características de los apostantes deportivos y consecuencias de la ," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 30, pages 579-598, Agosto.
    11. Momi Dahan, 2017. "Using Spatial Distribution of Outlets to Estimate Gambling Incidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 6583, CESifo.
    12. Frank Crowley & John Eakins & Declan Jordan, 2012. "Participation,Expenditure and Regressivity in the Irish Lottery:Evidence from Irish Household Budget Survey 2004/2005," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 43(2), pages 199-225.
    13. James Rude & Yves Surry & Robert Kron, 2014. "A generalized double-hurdle model of Swedish gambling expenditures," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(34), pages 4151-4163, December.

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