Description:

This book provides an overview of recent research on saving and consumption, a field in which substantial progress has been made over the last decade. Economists attempting to understand saving and consumption patterns have generated some of the best science in economics. For more than fifty years, there has been serious empirical and theoretical activity--never separating data, theory, and policy as has happened in many branches of economics. Research has drawn microeconomists interested in household behavior, as well as macroeconomists, for whom the behavior of aggregate consumption has always occupied a central role in explaining aggregate fluctuations. Econometricians have also made distinguished contributions, and there has been a steady flow of new methodologies by those working on saving and consumption, in time-series econometrics, as well as in the study of micro and panel data. A coherent account of these developments is presented here, emphasizing the interplay between micro and the macro, between studies of cross-section and panels, and those using aggregate time series data.

Review

"The objective of the book is to organize, evaluate, speculate, and inspire. On all counts, it succeeds magnificently, and undoubtedly will help speed the way toward the next landmark in this field."-- Journal of Economic Literature

"A lucid and even entertaining introduction to modern research in consoumption...a valuable reference for anyone actively engaged in research in the area."-- Southern Economic Journal

"The most impressive study on the economics of consumption to date....The superb structure of this book makes it an excellent text for an advanced course in economics of consumption and saving....The fascinating analysis and the exhaustive bibliography in this book make it a valuable source for all researchers, faculty, students, and anyone with special interest in the area of consumption and saving."-- Journal of Consumer Affairs

"There has been a veritable explosion of econometric work on consumption in recent years...Deaton has been behind some of it and is on top of all of it. There is no better way to get up to date."--Alan S. Blinder, Princeton University

"The book does an impressive job of integrating the insights available from many sources, drawing on theory as well as econometric evidence, and micro as well as macro models. Understanding Consumption is lucid, intuitive, and eminently readable."--Marjorie Flavin, University of Virginia

About the Author

Angus Deaton is at Princeton University.