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Consumption in the shadow of unemployment

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  • Campos, Rodolfo G.
  • Reggio, Iliana

Abstract

By how much do employed households reduce their consumption when the aggregate unemployment rate rises? In Spain during the Great Recession a one point increase in the unemployment rate was related to a strong reduction in household consumption of more than 0.7% per equivalent adult. This reduction is consistent with forward-looking agents responding to downward revisions of their expectations on future income growth rates: the shadow of unemployment. Using consumption panel data that include information on physical quantities we show that the drop in consumption expenditure was truly a reduction in quantities, and not a switch to cheaper alternatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Campos, Rodolfo G. & Reggio, Iliana, 2015. "Consumption in the shadow of unemployment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 39-54.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:78:y:2015:i:c:p:39-54
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2015.04.006
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations

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