The expenditure on children in Japan

Abstract

This study estimates average expenditures on children by families in Japan on the basis of the rich information about household expenditures and demographics obtained from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey. We show that the total expenditure on the first child accumulated from birth through age 18 is approximately 16.5 million yen based on 2004-2008 data. Average per child expenditure (accumulated over the same age period) in a household with two children is reduced to about 11million yen, suggesting partly that there are economies of scale in child rearing activities and that families with two children have less money to spend on each child. The share of child rearing expenditure in total consumption appears to have been steadily increasing since mid-1980s.