Consumption expenditure linked to secondary income
Comparing Net secondary income (BoP, current US$) with Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per capita across 165 countries, 2018–2025.
- Rank correlation
- -0.58
- Holding size constant
- -0.47
- Countries compared
- 165
- Period
- 2018–2025
What might link these
The negative correlation between final consumption expenditure per capita and net secondary income might suggest that countries with higher secondary income have lower consumption expenditure, possibly due to differences in economic structures or remittance patterns. A careful reader should consider the potential impact of factors like income inequality or government subsidies. Education level could be a confounder, as it may influence both consumption patterns and secondary income sources.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. This correlation could mislead by implying a direct relationship between the two indicators, when in fact they might be influenced by underlying economic or demographic factors.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.