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Inflation Illiteracy – A Micro-Data Analysis

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Abstract

Survey data indicate that a relatively large share of households is ill-informed about the rate of inflation in the economy, with perceived and expected rates of inflation deviating sub-stantially from official measures. Using Swedish micro-level data, we find that such inflation illiteracy is related to respondent characteristics, including income, education and sex.

Suggested Citation

  • Andersson, Fredrik N G & Hjalmarsson, Erik & Österholm, Pär, 2022. "Inflation Illiteracy – A Micro-Data Analysis," Working Papers 2022:6, Örebro University, School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:oruesi:2022_006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jonung, Lars & Laidler, David E, 1988. "Are Perceptions of Inflation Rational? Some Evidence for Sweden," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 1080-1087, December.
    2. Laurent E. Calvet & John Y. Campbell & Paolo Sodini, 2009. "Fight or Flight? Portfolio Rebalancing by Individual Investors," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(1), pages 301-348.
    3. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 5-44, March.
    4. Alberto Cavallo & Guillermo Cruces & Ricardo Perez-Truglia, 2017. "Inflation Expectations, Learning, and Supermarket Prices: Evidence from Survey Experiments," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 1-35, July.
    5. Michael Ehrmann & Damjan Pfajfar & Emiliano Santoro, 2017. "Consumers' Attitudes and Their Inflation Expectations," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 13(1), pages 225-259, February.
    6. Jonung, Lars, 1981. "Perceived and Expected Rates of Inflation in Sweden," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(5), pages 961-968, December.
    7. Duca, John V. & Kumar, Anil, 2014. "Financial literacy and mortgage equity withdrawals," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 62-75.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Perceived inflation; Inflation expectations; Survey data; Economic literacy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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