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The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 72 No. 2 1990

Information-Induced Heteroscedasticity in Price Expectations Data

Raymond P. H. Fishe; Todd L. Idson

Abstract

This study tests the hypothesis that price expectations differ across individuals because they acquire different information about inflation. If price information is a normal good, then the amount of price information acquired will vary across individuals according to income, education, and other demand-specific variables, causing price expectations to be heteroscedastic with respect to these variables. Utilizing monthly household survey data, the authors test the heteroscedasticity hypothesis and find support for the differential information model. In addition, they develop a novel method of incorporating the "don't know" response to questions about inflation into the estimation of price expectations.

DOI
10.2307/2109720
Volume
72
Issue
2
Pages
304
Sources
openalex crossref

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