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Using Subjective Income Expectations to Test for Excess Sensitivity of Consumption to Predicted Income Growth

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We test for precautionary saving and excess sensitivity of consumption to predicted income growth using a 1989-93 panel survey of Italian households that has measures of subjective income and inflation expectations. These expectations provide a powerful instrument for predicting income growth. The empirical specification controls for predictable changes in labor supply and allows a fairly general specification for the stochastic structure of the forecast error. We find that consumption growth is positively correlated with the expected variance of income and uncorrelated with predicted income growth. Overall, the results support the precautionary saving model

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  • Luigi Pistaferri & Tullio Jappelli, 1998. "Using Subjective Income Expectations to Test for Excess Sensitivity of Consumption to Predicted Income Growth," CSEF Working Papers 12, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:sef:csefwp:12
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    Keywords

    Subjective expectations; precautionary saving; excess sensitivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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