The Consumer Consumption Conundrum: An Explanation

Adrian R Fleissig

Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 1997, vol. 29, issue 2, 177-92

Abstract: This paper uses the Fourier flexible form to jointly approximate utility and service flows from durable and nondurable goods. In contrast, parametric functions are usually not flexible enough to accurately approximate nonseparability and often give inconsistent results. This paper calls these inconsistent results the consumer consumption conundrum. The author calculates Morishima elasticities of substitution because Charles Blackorby and Robert R. Russell (1989) show that the Allen-Uzawa measure of substitution is incorrect. Results show that substitution between commodities are variable over time. Therefore, policy intended to affect consumption should take the variability of substitution into account because constant elasticity of substitution functions may give misleading conclusions. Copyright 1997 by Ohio State University Press.

Date: 1997
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mcb:jmoncb:v:29:y:1997:i:2:p:177-92

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