Thesis Abstract

Abstract
This research project aims to conduct a regression analysis on the expenditure of medical laboratory scientists working at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital in relation to their monthly income and family size. The study seeks to explore the relationship between these variables to provide insights into the spending patterns of this specific group of professionals. The research will collect data on the monthly income, family size, and expenditure patterns of medical laboratory scientists through a structured questionnaire survey. The sample will consist of a randomly selected group of medical laboratory scientists from the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital. The data collected will be analyzed using regression analysis techniques to determine the impact of monthly income and family size on expenditure. The findings of this study are expected to reveal important information about the financial behavior of medical laboratory scientists in relation to their income levels and family sizes. The regression analysis will help in identifying whether there is a significant correlation between monthly income, family size, and expenditure, and if so, the strength and direction of this relationship. Through this research, valuable insights can be gained into the spending habits and financial management practices of medical laboratory scientists at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital. The results of the regression analysis will provide a quantitative understanding of how income and family size influence expenditure patterns among this specific group of professionals. The implications of the findings can be significant for both the medical laboratory scientists themselves and the management of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital. Understanding the factors that influence expenditure can help individuals make informed financial decisions and plan their budgets more effectively. For the hospital management, insights from this study can inform policies related to employee compensation and benefits. In conclusion, this research project on the regression analysis of expenditure on monthly income and family size among medical laboratory scientists at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital has the potential to contribute valuable knowledge to the field of financial management and offer practical implications for both individuals and organizations.

Thesis Overview

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

• Preliminary

Economic development of any nation is contingent upon the income potential and consumption patter of its people. While, the channelization of income in productive investment avenues leads to increased capital formation, the rise in consumption expenditure leads to higher aggregate demand and elevated economic growth of a country (Dwivedi, 2005). Since, industrial workforce are both potent consumers and prospective savers of economy, it becomes all the more important to analysis their savings consumption expenses. Of the multiple factors determining the income and subsequent consumption pattern of the individual, the family or the household size assumes importance (Browning and Lusaidi, 1996; Orbeta, 2006).

Most of the existing studies are of the view that family size affects both the income and consumption expenses of the individual, but in opposing direction (Rehmen et al., 2010). With increase in the size of the household, the income is diverted away from the savings and consequently, the saving income-ratio of the individual is lowered. However, because of the presence of relatively large number of economically active members, there is a possibility of average saving of large sized families being more than that of the law member family groups. Nevertheless, the empirical findings of majority of studies suggest that family size has a negative effect on saving, as increased number of family members draw down the savings, thereby resulting in reduced propensity to save of an individual (Bendig et al., 2009) consumption expenditure, on the other hand is regarded as a positive function of household size as proposed by a number of consumption theories. Every addition to the family size result in incremental burden on the current income levels of the household which leads to the diversion of income towards consumption (Dornbush et al., 2004) and the gratification of day to day consumption needs of the additional income ratios of the individual. Some researchers are of the view that in absolute terms, the consumption expenses of the large families can be lower than that of the small member families, which may be possible due to the relatively lower income levels of large households in contract to the smaller ones. However, the effect of family size on consumption expenditure in real terms is assessed through examining the pattern of proportion of income spent on consumption (consumption income ratios) in response to increase in number of members in a family. A number of studies unanimously agree that existence of additional family members in a household result in increased prosperity to consume, thereby implying that consumption expenses are positively impacted by the family size (Kelly, 2015).

There exist limited studies which have exclusively studied the effect of family size on both saving and consumption expenses of the industrial workforce. Therefore, in this backdrop, the present study attempts to fill existing research lacunae through in-depth examination of the impact of family size on monthly saving and consumption expenditure of through the application of specific econometric tools. It further aims to study the pattern of income and consumption expenses of workers by simultaneously analyzing and comparing their mean values across different family size groups.