2.1.2. Covariates (household's head)

Age ( ≥ 18 years and ≤ 70), sex (male = 0/female = 1), family type (couples households with or without children = 1; other = 0), ethnicity (Māori = 1; non-Māori = 0), education levels (Bachelors and above, Certificates level 1–5, and no qualifications or others), employment status (FT, PT, and others), main benefit recipient (yes/no), home ownership (owned = 1; rented or others = 0), income level (low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income, (ie, income quartile 1, 2, 3, and 4), 5 region dummies (Auckland council, Wellington regional council, other North Island councils, Canterbury regional council, and other South Island councils), and time (year dummies: 2006/07, 2009/10, and 2012/13).

Exclusion criteria: age ≤ 18 and ≥ 70, household head's characteristics only (removing all observations for other household members except the household's head). We addressed zero consumption issues by replacing zeros with a small random number generated by a uniform distribution between 0.01% and 1%.

Table 1 shows that non-Māori total and per capita household expenditure were significantly higher (by over 30%) than Māori expenditure. They also spent (in dollar terms) more than Māori in all consumption components. However, in relative terms Māori spent more on alcohol and tobacco and food than non-Māori.

Statistic Summary of Key Variables (pooled sample: 2006, 2009, 2013, per annum).

Note: Monetary variables were set to 2013 price level. Estimates were adjusted for sample weights unless stated. Statistically significant at 1% (**), 5%(*) and 10%(+). The observations were rounded to comply with the Confidentiality rules by StatsNZ. ^aExpenditure share variables were estimated using sample weights and were not exactly equal to the proportions of expenditure means over the total household expenditure. ^bNo sample weighting.

Māori households were different from non-Māori in terms of household and socio-economic conditions. Māori have larger household size, household heads were younger and more likely to be female, have lower education levels, fewer have full-time jobs, household incomes are lower, more receive welfare benefits, and they are less likely to be home owners. Overall, Māori are in lower socio-economic position relative to non-Māori.