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Indirect consumer inflation expectations: Theory and evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Hajdini, Ina
  • Knotek, Edward S.
  • Leer, John
  • Pedemonte, Mathieu
  • Rich, Robert
  • Schoenle, Raphael

Abstract

Based on indirect utility theory, we ask consumers about the change in their incomes that would be required to offset expected price changes and buy the same amounts of goods and services one year ahead in a large-scale, high-frequency survey of consumers in the US and 14 other countries. Aggregating responses across consumers provides an alternative, indirect measure of inflation expectations compared with conventional, direct measures, but with theoretically lower ex-post forecast errors. The survey responses show that indirect consumer inflation expectations vary based on age, gender, individual inflation experiences, and local shocks. Exploiting rich cross-sectional variation, inflation expectations increase by slightly more in response to gasoline price changes than implied by their expenditure share.

Suggested Citation

  • Hajdini, Ina & Knotek, Edward S. & Leer, John & Pedemonte, Mathieu & Rich, Robert & Schoenle, Raphael, 2024. "Indirect consumer inflation expectations: Theory and evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(S).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:moneco:v:145:y:2024:i:s:s0304393224000217
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2024.103568
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    Cited by:

    1. Knotek, Edward S & Mitchell, James & Pedemonte, Mathieu & Shiroff, Taylor, 2024. "The Effects of Interest Rate Increases on Consumers’ Inflation Expectations: The Roles of Informedness and Compliance," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13758, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. Georgarakos, Dimitris & Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Coibion, Olivier & Kenny, Geoff, 2024. "The Causal Effects of Inflation Uncertainty on Households' Beliefs and Actions," IZA Discussion Papers 17317, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inflation; Expectations; Surveys; Consumers; Heterogeneous beliefs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • E37 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • E71 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on the Macro Economy

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