Abstract:
The forecasting power of consumer confidence indexes for consumption spending runs counter to the predictions of the permanent income hypothesis (PIH). This paper resolves this discrepancy by developing a “confidence augmented” permanent income hypothesis (CAPIH). While it does not radically alter the estimated extent of permanent income consumption, the CAPIH model predicts a significantly smaller intertemporal elasticity of substitution than a standard PIH model. In addition, the results are largely invariant to the measure of consumer confidence used and the choice of instrumental variables.
Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Dr. Mary H. Lesser, Department of Economics, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY 10801-1890 http://www.iona.edu/eea/publications/subandmem.htm