A classic treatise that defined the field of applied demand analysis, Consumer Demand in the United States: Prices, Income, and Consumption Behavior is now fully updated and expanded for a new generation. Consumption expenditures by households in the United States account for about 70% of America's GDP. The primary focus in this book is on how households adjust these expenditures in response to changes in price and income. Econometric estimates of price and income elasticities are obtained for an exhaustive array of goods and services using data from surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and aggregate consumption expenditures from the National Income and Product Accounts, providing a better understanding of consumer demand. Practical models for forecasting future price and income elasticities are also demonstrated. Fully revised with over a dozen new chapters and appendices, the book revisits the original Houthakker-Taylor models while examining new material as well, such as the use of quantile regression and the stationarity of consumer preference. It also explores the emerging connection between neuroscience and consumer behavior, integrating the economic literature on demand theory with psychology literature. The most comprehensive treatment of the topic to date, this volume will be an essential resource for any researcher, student or professional economist working on consumer behavior or demand theory, as well as investors and policymakers concerned with the impact of economic fluctuations.

Original editions sold 2500 copies and were among the most highly cited books in the field of demand theory

Preliminaries.- and Overview.- Demand Theory Under Review.- Quantile Regression: A Robust Alternative to Least Squares.- Analyses of Data from BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys.- Description of Data Used from the Ongoing BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys.- Stability of U.S. Consumption Expenditure Patterns: 1996-1999.- Price and Income Elasticities Estimated from BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys and ACCRA Price Data: Some Preliminary Results.- Estimation of Theoretically Plausible Demand Functions from U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey Data.- An Additive Double-Logarithmic Consumer Demand System.- Quantile Regression Analysis of Asymmetrically Distributed Residuals.- CES Panel Dynamics: A Discrete-Time Flow-Adjustment Model.- Engel Curves for 29 Categories of CES Expenditure.- Summary of Cross-Sectional Results.- Analysis of Time-Series Data from National Income and Product Accounts.- Analysis of Time-Series Data on Personal Consumption Expenditures from the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts.- Quarterly PCE Models.- Annual PCE Models.- Discussion of the Time-Series Results.- Comparison of Time-Series and Cross-Sectional Elasticities.- Overall Assessment of CES and PCE Elasticities.- The Dynamics of Personal Saving.- Miscellaneous Studies of Income Distribution and Weak Axiom of Revealed Preference.- The Stationarity of Consumer Preferences: Evidence from Twenty Countries.- Notes on Thick-Tailed Distributions of Wealth.- Conic Distributions of Earned Incomes.- Final Evaluation.