Showing 1 – 2 of 2 results.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs
Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, August 2011 (ICPSR 35448)
Released/updated on: 2015-05-27
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2011-08-01--2011-08-31
The Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior series (also known as the Surveys of Consumers) was undertaken to measure changes in consumer attitudes and expectations, to understand why such changes occur, and to evaluate how they relate to consumer decisions to save, borrow, or make discretionary purchases. The data regularly include the Index of Consumer Sentiment, the Index of Current Economic Conditions, and the Index of Consumer Expectations. Since the 1940s, these surveys have been produced quarterly through 1977 and monthly thereafter. The surveys conducted in 2011 focused on topics such as evaluations and expectations about personal finances, employment, price changes, and the national business situation. Opinions were collected regarding respondents' appraisals of present market conditions for purchasing houses, automobiles, computers, and other durables. Also explored in this survey, were respondents' types of savings and financial investments, loan use, family income, and retirement planning. Other topics in this series typically include ownership, lease, and use of automobiles, respondents' use of computers, expectations for future gas prices, and respondents' familiarity with and use of the Internet. Demographic information includes ethnic origin, sex, age, marital status, and education.
Curated
Thresholds for Prime Rate Changes and Tests for Symmetry (ICPSR 1231)
Released/updated on: 2000-12-06
Geographic coverage: United States
The popular assertion -- that banks raise loan rates more readily than they lower them in opposite circumstances -- returns to the forefront during every period of declining market interest rates. Perhaps this assertion captures attention because since the 1980s, the ubiquity of credit card balances means that consumer loan rates affect more people than ever. In this article, the author presents specific tests for asymmetric behavior in bank loan rates. The results suggest that the bank prime lending rate, in particular, is slower to decrease than increase. The findings also suggest that one has to put the asymmetry in perspective. The prime rate does not remain far above where it would be in the absence of asymmetry. In addition, the asymmetry probably is the market's response to the rise in default and late payment probabilities that occurs during cyclical downturns in the economy.