Consumer Demand in the United States

This classic treatise that defined the field of applied demand analysis is now fully updated and expanded. Its primary focus is how households adjust their expenditures, which account for 70% of America's GDP, in response to changes in price and income.

It also explores the emerging connection between neuroscience and consumer behavior, integrating the economic literature on demand theory with psychology literature. The most comprehensive treatment of the topic to date, this volume will be an essential resource for any researcher, student or professional economist working on consumer behavior or demand theory, as well as investors and policymakers concerned with the impact of economic fluctuations.

Introduction and Overview.- Demand Theory Under Review.- Econometric and Estimation Considerations.- Appendix On a Bilateral Law-of-Pareto.- Description of Data Used From The On-Going BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys.- Stability of U.S. Consumption Expenditure Patterns: 1996 - 1999.- Price and Income Elasticities Estimated From BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys and ACCRA Price Data: Some Preliminary Results.- Estimation of Theoretically Plausible Demand Functions From U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey Data.- An Additive Double-Logarithmic Consumer Demand System.- Quantile Regression Analysis of Asymmetrically Distributed Residuals.- CES Panel Dynamics: A Discrete-Time Flow-Adjustment Model.- Engel Curves for 29 Categories of CES Expenditure.- Summary of Cross-Sectional Results.- Appendix Addendum to the CES Analysis: Estimates of Total-Expenditure Elasticities for 24 Additional Quarters, 2000-2005.- Analysis of Time-Series Data on Personal Consumption Expenditures from The U. S. National Income and Product Accounts.- Quarterly PCE Models.- Annual PCE Models.- Appendix 15.1 Demand for Electricity.- Appendix 15.2 Demand for Telecommunications.- Appendix 15.3 Used Car Prices and the Demand for Automobiles.- Discussion of the Time-Series Results.- Comparison of Time-Series and Cross-Sectional Elasticities.- Overall Assessment of CES and PCE Elasticities.- Dynamics of Personal Saving.-The Stationarity of Consumer Preferences: Evidence From Twenty Countries.- Conic Distributions of Earned Income.- Notes on Thick-Tailed Distributions of Wealth.- Final Evaluation.