Consumptor economicus: How do consumers form expectations on economic variables?

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Year: 2018
Volume: 152
Issue: C
Pages: 254-275

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Consumptor economicus, the economic consumer, is more complex than homo economicus. We find consumers form monthly expectations on inflation, unemployment and economic conditions based on coherent evaluations of relevant news. Relevant information is incorporated gradually, leading to a transient bias in consumer expectations, an established result. But expectations are also based on emotional responses to irrelevant events. We borrow the partisan bias from the political science and social psychology literature to identify exogenously emotional responses. Our results demonstrate that consumers also incorporate irrelevant emotive events immediately, leading to a persistent emotional bias in expectations, a new result.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeborg:v:152:y:2018:i:c:p:254-275
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25