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The Timing of Purchases and Aggregate Fluctuations

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Author Info
John V. Leahy
Joseph Zeira

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Abstract

This paper analyzes how the decision of when to buy a durable good affects both non-durable consumption and business cycle dynamics. At the individual level, we show that the timing of durable goods purchases plays an important role in smoothing consumption over time. In the benchmark case, the time at which the agent purchases the durable good is the only variable that reacts to changes in wealth, while other variables, such as the consumption of non-durables or the amount of the durable that the individual purchases, remain unchanged. At the aggregate level, we show that timing decisions can serve as a mechanism for the amplification and propagation of aggregate shocks. A decline in wealth causes individuals to delay their durable goods purchases which reduces demand dramatically for some time.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 7672.

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Date of creation: Apr 2000
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7672

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Eberly, Janice C, 1994. "Adjustment of Consumers' Durables Stocks: Evidence from Automobile Purchases," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(3), pages 403-36, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. De Gregorio, Jose & Guidotti, Pablo E & Vegh, Carlos A, 1998. "Inflation Stabilisation and the Consumption of Durable Goods," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(446), pages 105-31, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Grossman, Sanford J & Laroque, Guy, 1990. "Asset Pricing and Optimal Portfolio Choice in the Presence of Illiquid Durable Consumption Goods," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(1), pages 25-51, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Bar-Ilan, Avner & Blinder, Alan S, 1992. "Consumer Durables: Evidence on the Optimality of Usually Doing Nothing," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 24(2), pages 258-72, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Caballero, Ricardo J, 1993. "Durable Goods: An Explanation for Their Slow Adjustment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(2), pages 351-84, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Bertola, Giuseppe & Guiso, Luigi & Pistaferri, Luigi, 2002. "Uncertainty and Consumer Durables Adjustment," CEPR Discussion Papers 3332, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Christopher L. House & John V. Leahy, 2000. "An sS Model with Adverse Selection," NBER Working Papers 8030, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Jerome Adda & Russell Cooper, 2000. "The Dynamics of Car Sales: A Discrete Choice Approach," NBER Working Papers 7785, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Talan Iscan, 1999. "Present Value Tests of the Current Account with Durables Consumption," Department of Economics at Dalhousie University working papers archive present, Dalhousie, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Sabirianova Peter, Klara & Stolyarov, Dmitriy, 2009. "Inequality and Volatility Moderation in Russia: Evidence from Micro-Level Panel Data on Consumption and Income," IZA Discussion Papers 4233, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Dmitriy Stolyarov & Ennio Stacchetti, 2004. "Obsolescence of Durable Goods and Optimal Consumption," Econometric Society 2004 Latin American Meetings 312, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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