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Consumer Expenditure Surveys

Consumption Symposium: Broadening Our Understanding of Household Consumption and Measurement, September 22-23, 2021

Concepts and Practical Issues (PDF)

Luigi Pistaferri - Stanford University - pista@stanford.edu

In this presentation, I discuss three broad issues regarding consumption in the US. I first summarize the range of questions of interest for policymakers and academics that involve consumption data. Next, I consider various cases in which consumption information may differ from what it is typically observed in survey data (spending) due to home production, price differences among consumers, the effect of in-kind transfers, and services from durables. Finally, I discuss data issues, focusing in particular on the Consumer Expenditure Survey.

 

Last Modified Date: November 10, 2021