IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jecinq/v12y2014i3p297-314.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The implications of mean scaling for the calculation of aggregate consumer elasticities

Author

Listed:
  • Frank Denton
  • Dean Mountain

Abstract

Mean scaling is a common assumption in the estimation of aggregate consumer elasticities—in particular, expenditure elasticities, but also (implicitly) compensated price elasticities. The assumption is that each household’s income changes in the same proportion as aggregate income. If correct, that implies no bias in the use of aggregate data for estimation of expenditure elasticities. If incorrect, though, there may be substantial bias, especially if there is a high degree of inequality in the underlying income distribution, and regardless of whether one uses micro or aggregate data. We explore this issue, both theoretically and illustratively, using realistic (empirically derived) elasticity estimates coupled with relatively high and low degrees of income inequality. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Frank Denton & Dean Mountain, 2014. "The implications of mean scaling for the calculation of aggregate consumer elasticities," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 12(3), pages 297-314, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:12:y:2014:i:3:p:297-314
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-013-9256-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10888-013-9256-5
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10888-013-9256-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arthur Lewbel, 2003. "A rational rank four demand system," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(2), pages 127-135.
    2. Poterba, James M., 2007. "Income inequality and income taxation," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 623-633.
    3. Shenggen Fan & Eric J. Wailes & Gail L. Cramer, 1995. "Household Demand in Rural China: A Two-Stage LES-AIDS Model," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 77(1), pages 54-62.
    4. James Banks & Richard Blundell & Arthur Lewbel, 1997. "Quadratic Engel Curves And Consumer Demand," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 527-539, November.
    5. Geoffrey Meen & Mark Andrew, 1998. "On the Aggregate Housing Market Implications of Labour Market Change," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 45(4), pages 393-419, September.
    6. Erich Battistin & Richard Blundell & Arthur Lewbel, 2009. "Why Is Consumption More Log Normal than Income? Gibrat's Law Revisited," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(6), pages 1140-1154, December.
    7. Lewbel, Arthur, 1990. "Income distribution movements and aggregate money illusion," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1-2), pages 35-42.
    8. George Karatzas, 2000. "On the determination of the US aggregate health care expenditure," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(9), pages 1085-1099.
    9. Parkin, David & McGuire, Alistair & Yule, Brian, 1987. "Aggregate health care expenditures and national income : Is health care a luxury good?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 109-127, June.
    10. Christensen, Laurits R & Jorgenson, Dale W & Lau, Lawrence J, 1975. "Transcendental Logarithmic Utility Functions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(3), pages 367-383, June.
    11. Blundell, Richard & Pashardes, Panos & Weber, Guglielmo, 1993. "What Do We Learn About Consumer Demand Patterns from Micro Data?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(3), pages 570-597, June.
    12. Arthur Lewbel, 1989. "Exact Aggregation and a Representative Consumer," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(3), pages 621-633.
    13. Emek Basker, 2011. "Does Wal‐Mart Sell Inferior Goods?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(4), pages 973-981, October.
    14. Daniel R. Feenberg & James M. Poterba, 1993. "Income Inequality and the Incomes of Very High-Income Taxpayers: Evidence from Tax Returns," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 7, pages 145-177, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Campano, Fred & Salvatore, Dominick, 2007. "Economic development and income distribution," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 553-566.
    16. McGuinness, Tony & Cowling, Keith, 1975. "Advertising and the aggregate demand for cigarettes," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 311-328, July.
    17. Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2003. "Is the Calorie-Income Elasticity Sensitive to Price Changes? Evidence from Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1291-1307, July.
    18. Frank Denton & Dean Mountain, 2004. "Aggregation effects on price and expenditure elasticities in a quadratic almost ideal demand system," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 37(3), pages 613-628, August.
    19. repec:bla:revinw:v:42:y:1996:i:3:p:257-69 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. James M. Poterba, 2000. "Stock Market Wealth and Consumption," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 99-118, Spring.
    21. McCONNELL, KENNETH E., 1997. "Income and the demand for environmental quality," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 383-399, July.
    22. Dargay, Joyce M, 2001. "The effect of income on car ownership: evidence of asymmetry," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 807-821, November.
    23. repec:bla:revinw:v:35:y:1989:i:2:p:107-31 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Frank T. Denton & Dean C. Mountain, 2011. "Aggregation and Other Biases in the Calculation of Consumer Elasticities for Models of Arbitrary Rank," Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports 447, McMaster University.
    25. Frank T. Denton & Dean C. Mountain, 2004. "Aggregation effects on price and expenditure elasticities in a quadratic almost ideal demand system," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 613-628, August.
    26. Denton, Frank T. & Mountain, Dean C., 2011. "Exploring the effects of aggregation error in the estimation of consumer demand elasticities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 1747-1755, July.
    27. Deaton, Angus S & Muellbauer, John, 1980. "An Almost Ideal Demand System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 312-326, June.
    28. Ravallion, Martin & Heil, Mark & Jalan, Jyotsna, 2000. "Carbon Emissions and Income Inequality," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 651-669, October.
    29. Denton, Frank T. & Mountain, Dean C., 2001. "Income distribution and aggregation/disaggregation biases in the measurement of consumer demand elasticities," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 21-28, October.
    30. Mchel O'Higgins & Guenther Schmaus & Geofrey Stephenson, 1989. "Income Distribution And Redistribution: A Microdata Analysis For Seven Countries," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 35(2), pages 107-131, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Frank T. Denton & Dean C. Mountain, 2011. "Aggregation and Other Biases in the Calculation of Consumer Elasticities for Models of Arbitrary Rank," Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports 447, McMaster University.
    2. Frank T. Denton & Dean C. Mountain, 2016. "Biases in consumer elasticities based on micro and aggregate data: an integrated framework and empirical evaluation," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 531-560, March.
    3. Denton, Frank T. & Mountain, Dean C., 2011. "Exploring the effects of aggregation error in the estimation of consumer demand elasticities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 1747-1755, July.
    4. Frank T. Denton & Dean C. Mountain, 2007. "Exploring the Effects of Aggregation Error in the Estimation of Consumer Demand Elasticities," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 226, McMaster University.
    5. Frank T. Denton & Dean C. Mountain & Byron G Spencer, 2006. "Errors of aggregation and errors of specification in a consumer demand model: a theoretical note," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(4), pages 1398-1407, November.
    6. Frank Denton & Dean Mountain, 2004. "Aggregation effects on price and expenditure elasticities in a quadratic almost ideal demand system," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 37(3), pages 613-628, August.
    7. Pangaribowo, Evita Hanie & Tsegai, Daniel W., 2011. "Food Demand Analysis of Indonesian Households with Particular Attention to the Poorest," Discussion Papers 116748, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    8. Frank T. Denton & Dean C. Mountain, 2004. "Aggregation effects on price and expenditure elasticities in a quadratic almost ideal demand system," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(3), pages 613-628, August.
    9. Lyssiotou, Panayiota & Pashardes, Panos & Stengos, Thanasis, 2002. "Nesting quadratic logarithmic demand systems," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 369-374, August.
    10. Oliver, Atara Stephanie, 2013. "Information Technology and Transportation: Substitutes or Complements?," MPRA Paper 46548, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Bente Halvorsen, 2006. "When can micro properties be used to predict aggregate demand?," Discussion Papers 452, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    12. Diakité, Zakary, 2023. "Estimating Demand for Lamb, Beef, Pork, and Poultry in Canada," MPRA Paper 120115, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Bente Halvorsen & Bodil M. Larsen, 2008. "The Role of Heterogeneous Demand for Temporal and Structural Aggregation Bias," Discussion Papers 537, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    14. Xavier Labandeira & José M. Labeaga & Miguel Rodríguez, 2006. "A Residential Energy Demand System for Spain," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 87-112.
    15. Paula Carvalho Pereda & Denisard Cneio de Oliveira Alves, 2008. "Demand for Nutrients in Brazil," Anais do XXXVI Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 36th Brazilian Economics Meeting] 200807211136590, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    16. Gallet, Craig A., 2010. "The income elasticity of meat: a meta-analysis," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(4), pages 1-14.
    17. Dey, Madan Mohan & Garcia, Yolanda T. & Kumar, Praduman & Piumsombun, Somying & Haque, Muhammad Sirajul & Li, Luping & Radam, Alias & Senaratne, Athula & Khiem, Nguyen Tri & Koeshendrajana, Sonny, 2008. "Demand for fish in Asia: a cross-country analysis," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 52(3), pages 1-18.
    18. LaFrance, Jeffrey T., 2008. "The structure of US food demand," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 147(2), pages 336-349, December.
    19. Gong, X. & van Soest, A.H.O. & Zhang, P., 2000. "Sexual Bias and Household Consumption : A Semiparametic Analysis of Engel curves in Rural China," Discussion Paper 2000-45, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    20. Veeramani, Venkat N. & Maynard, Leigh J., 2004. "Testing For The Existence Of Price Points In Retail Milk Scanner Data Using Microeconomic Theory," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 20378, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mean scaling; Consumer expenditure elasticities; Aggregation bias; Income inequality; D11; C43;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:12:y:2014:i:3:p:297-314. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.