The Structure of Selected Household Expenditures on Recreation and Transport in V4 Countries: A Hierarchical Clustering Perspective

This paper examines household expenditure patterns on recreation, culture, and transportation in the Visegrád Group (V4) countries using hierarchical clustering analysis. Data on household consumption expenditure by COICOP classification from 1988 to 2020 was collected from official statistical offices of Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. The methodology employed normality testing, Kendall’s tau-b correlation analysis, and cluster analysis. Correlation analysis revealed no significant relationship between recreation and culture expenditure and various transportation-related expenditures across individual V4 countries, contrasting with previous findings across all EU countries. However, strong correlations were observed between different transportation modes within each country. Cluster analysis identified three main clusters: one comprising other purchased transport services and railway transport expenditures across all V4 countries; another including road transport and insurance-related expenditures; and a third cluster of recreation and culture expenditures. The findings highlight varying relationships between transportation modes and expenditures across V4 countries, suggesting regional integration in transportation infrastructure and usage.