Household-level data on consumer expenditures underpin a wide range of empirical research in modern economics, spanning micro- and macroeconomics. This research includes work on consumption and saving, on poverty and inequality, and on risk sharing and insurance. We review different ways in which such data can be collected or captured: traditional detailed budget surveys, less onerous survey procedures that might be included in more general surveys, and administrative or process data. We discuss the advantages and difficulties of each approach and suggest directions for future investigation.
Authors
Research Associate University of Copenhagen
Martin is an IFS Research Associate, a Nuffield Senior Research Fellow and a Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford.
Research Fellow University of Michigan
Tom is a Research Fellow at IFS, a Research Professor for the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Journal article details
- DOI
- 10.1146/annurev-economics-080213-041247
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- JEL
- C81; D12
- Issue
- August 2014
Suggested citation
M, Browning and T, Crossley and J, Winter. (2014). 'The Measurement of Household Consumption Expenditures' (2014)
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