Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, August 1981 Economic Behavior Program. Survey Research Center. University of Michigan business conditions consumer attitudes consumer behavior consumer expectations consumer expenditures disposable income durable goods economic conditions employment inflation interest rates national economy personal finances price fluctuations purchasing RCMD.XI RCMD.IV NACDA.III ICPSR.IV.A These surveys were undertaken to measure changes in consumer attitudes and expectations, to understand why these changes occur, and to evaluate how they relate to consumer decisions to save, borrow, or make discretionary purchases. This type of information is essential for forecasting changes in aggregate consumer behavior. Since the late 1940s, these surveys have been produced quarterly through 1977 and monthly thereafter. Each monthly survey contains approximately 40-50 questions and probes a different aspect of consumer confidence. Open-ended questions are asked concerning evaluations and expectations about personal finances, employment, price changes, and the national business situation. Additional questions probe buying intentions for automobiles and the respondent's appraisals of present market conditions for purchasing houses, automobiles, and other durables. 1992-02-16 survey data 8771 10.3886/ICPSR08771.v1 personal interviews United States 1981-08 ICPSR metadata records are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/).