Errors in survey reports of consumption expenditures

Erich Battistin ()

No W03/07, IFS Working Papers from Institute for Fiscal Studies

Abstract: This paper considers data quality issues for the analysis of consumption inequality exploiting two complementary datasets from the Consumer Expenditure Survey for the United States. The Interview sample follows survey households over four calendar quarters and consists of retrospectively asked information about monthly expenditures on durable and non-durable goods. The Diary sample interviews household for two consecutive weeks and includes detailed information about frequently purchased items (food, personal cares and household supplies). Each survey has its own questionnaire and sample. Information from one sample is exploited as an instrument for the other sample to derive a correction for the measurement error affecting observed measures of consumption inequality. Implications of our ?ndings are used as a test for the permanent income hypothesis.

Keywords: Consumption Inequality; Measurement Error; Permanent Income Hypothesis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C13 C42 D12 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 58 pp
Date: 2003-04-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (67)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Errors in Survey Reports of Consumption Expenditures (2002)
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