What do Italian consumers know about Economic Data? Evidence from the Istat Consumer Survey

Enrico Giovannini (), Marco Malgarini () and Raffaella Sonego ()
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Enrico Giovannini: University of Rome Tor Vergata
Raffaella Sonego: Italian National Institute of statistics

Rivista di statistica ufficiale, 2015, vol. 17, issue 3, 25-47

Abstract: Standard theory describes economic decisions as result of optimising behaviour of well- informed agents. However, according to the “rational inattention” hypothesis, individuals may deliberately choose not to update their information set. The aim of our paper is study whether Italian consumers are adequately informed about economic data and to test if information is homogenously spread across the population. For this scope, we build a measure of knowledge of economic data at the individual level, and estimate a model relating knowledge to individual characteristics. Our main finding is that knowledge is relatively low and depends on the perceived costs and benefits of acquiring information. Results confirm one of the main postulates of the rational inattention hypothesis, i.e. that knowledge is highly differentiated across different population groups.

Keywords: Rational inattention; Household information acquisition; information and knowledge; consumer confidence; statistical literacy; media exposure. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D10 D83 D84 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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