The authors assess the empirical validity of the life-cycle model using a time series of cross sections and a novel parametrization of preferences. The main findings are as follows: the excess sensitivity of consumption growth to labor income disappears when the authors control for demographic...

The aim of this paper is to assess the importance of using micro-level data in the econometric analysis of consumer demand. To do this, the authors utilize a time series of repeated cross sections covering some 4,000 households in each of fifteen years. Employing a number of different...

We investigate the size of the consumption drop at retirement in Italy by exploiting pension eligibility information to correct for endogenous retirement. We take a regression discontinuity approach and assume that spending would be smooth around pension eligibility if individuals did not...