Given a preference basis for the model, a household's general equivalence scale is seen to be a cost of living index relative to the reference household type defined at constant prices. A maximum likelihood estimation procedure which can be applied both to cross-section data and pooled time-series/cross-sections is derived. The lack of identification of the model is established theoretically and checked empirically on British family expenditure survey data. With prior information, e.g. a nutrition based food scale, identification can be reached but ultimately the model is rendered implausible because of its zero substitution implication and the empirical results bear this out.

[A representative consumer exists if market behavior corresponds to a representative income or utility level which is a function of the income distribution. Necessary and sufficient conditions are given on micro behavior and macro behavior (whether maximizing or not) for a representative consumer to exist. Nonlinear Engel curves and taste differences are permitted. If the representative income level is restricted to be mean income, we obtain the traditional linear Engel curves solution. A striking result on economy of information in the representation of a social welfare function is given.]

One of the most important current questions in economic analysis is whether or not labor markets clear in the short run. To answer this, it is necessary to be able to distinguish between restricted and unrestricted behavior by consumers supplying labor. This paper investigates the forms of preferences which lie behind linear models of labor supply, and derives the functional forms for commodity demands which accompany them, both with and without quantity restrictions in the labor market. Simple linkages between restricted and unrestricted demands are also considered as is the question of perfect aggregation over consumers in the presence of quantity restrictions.