The Frequency of Consumer Expenditure: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

How does the observed pattern of household purchases vary, as we extend or shorten the period of observation? An empirical analysis of data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey, Interview Survey, from 1987–1989, reveals that there is considerable heterogeneity across disaggregate goods and across households in the frequency of expenditure. Issues of data quality and of the implications of the period of observation for Tobit analysis are also discussed.