Expectations and Household Spending
Denne rapporten undersøker sammenhengen mellom husholdssparing og oppfatningen av faren for arbeidsledighet, under og rett etter finanskrisen i USA. Analysene viser en klar nedgang i utgifter til klær, underholdning og personlig pleie ved en opplevd økning i faren for å bli arbeidsledig.
We use monthly data both on total household spending and on subcategories of spending. We find that changes in total spending made in response to changes in the chances of becoming unemployed are difficult to detect empirically. This is because many categories of spending, such as rent, utilities, and carpayments, tend to be fixed from month to month. Nevertheless, when studying subcategories of spending that are more easily adjusted in the short-term we find significant effects. For example,in response to an increase from 0 to 1 in the probability of becoming unemployed, we estimate that households reduce spending on clothing by about 14%, dining out and other entertainment by 11%, and personal care by 12%.