Consumption Inequality and Partial Insurance
利用食品需求估算方法构建消费面板数据，分析1980年代收入与消费不平等脱节的原因，发现永久性冲击存在部分保险，尤其对高学历和临近退休人群，而暂时性冲击除贫困家庭外完全保险。
This paper examines the link between income and consumption inequality. We create panel data on consumption for the Panel Study of Income Dynamics using an imputation procedure based on food demand estimates from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. We document a disjuncture between income and consumption inequality over the 1980s and show that it can be explained by changes in the persistence of income shocks. We find some partial insurance of permanent shocks, especially for the college educated and those near retirement. We find full insurance of transitory shocks except among poor households. Taxes, transfers, and family labor supply play an important role in insuring permanent shocks.