Preview

Voprosy Ekonomiki

Advanced search
Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

The use of self-reports in economics: Methodological barriers and their overcoming

https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2023-9-103-120

Abstract

The paper analyzes the history of the use of self-reports in economics in order to study the logic of overcoming methodological barriers in recent decades that previously limited the use of such data in economics. The two most widely used types of self-reported data in economics were considered: first, data on subjective expectations, intentions, and attitudes; second, data on subjective wellbeing, happiness, and life satisfaction. It is concluded that the main reasons for the changes can be identified as the transformations that took place in economics at the turn of the century: an increase in the prestige of applied research (the so-called “applied” turn), the fragmentation of the discipline, and a decrease in the importance of rational choice models compared to experimental and quasiexperimental methods. The prospects for the future use of self-reported data in economics are promising due to the methodological changes that have taken place, the expansion of interdisciplinary cooperation, and the rapid development of methods for collecting and processing data.

About the Authors

M. B. Bakeev
HSE University
Russian Federation

Murat B. Bakeev

Moscow



I. S. Lola
HSE University
Russian Federation

Inna S. Lola

Moscow



References

1. Roncaglia A. (2018). The wealth of ideas: A history of economic thought. Moscow: HSE Publ. (In Russian).

2. Angner E. (2013). Is it possible to measure happiness? The argument from measurability. European Journal for Philosophy of Science, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 221—240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-013-0065-2

3. Armantier O., Bruine de Bruin W., Potter S., Topa G., van der Klaauw W., Zafar B. (2013). Measuring inflation expectations. Annual Review of Economics, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 273—301. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-081512-141510

4. Avtonomov V., Avtonomov Y. (2019). Four methodenstreits between behavioral and mainstream economics. Journal of Economic Methodology, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 179—194. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2019.1625206

5. Bachmann R., Elstner S., Sims E. R. (2013). Uncertainty and economic activity: Evidence from business survey data. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 217—249. https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.5.2.217

6. Backhouse R. E., Cherrier B. (2017). The age of the applied economist: The transformation of economics since the 1970s. History of Political Economy, Vol. 49, Supplement, pp. 1—33. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-4166239

7. Bertrand M., Mullainathan S. (2001). Do people mean what they say? Implications for subjective survey data. American Economic Review, Vol. 91, No. 2, pp. 67—72. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.2.67

8. Blanchflower D. G., Oswald A. J. (1992). Entrepreneurship, happiness and supernormal returns: Evidence from Britain and the US. NBER Working Paper, No. 4228. https://doi.org/10.3386/w4228

9. Blinder A. (1991). Why are prices sticky? Preliminary results from an interview study. American Economic Review, Vol. 81, No. 2, pp. 89—96.

10. Bond T. N., Lang K. (2019). The sad truth about happiness scales. Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 127, No. 4, pp. 1629—1640. https://doi.org/10.1086/701679

11. Boulier B. L., Goldfarb R. S. (1998). On the use and nonuse of surveys in economics. Journal of Economic Methodology, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 1—21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501789800000001

12. Burnside C., Eichenbaum M., Rebelo S. (2016). Understanding booms and busts in housing markets. Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 124, No. 4, pp. 1088—1147. https://doi.org/10.1086/686732

13. Campante F., Yanagizawa-Drott D. (2015). Does religion affect economic growth and happiness? Evidence from Ramadan. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 130, No. 2, pp. 615—658. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjv002

14. Chen L. Y., Oparina E., Powdthavee N., Srisuma S. (2019). Have econometric analyses of happiness data been futile? A simple truth about happiness scales. IZA Discussion Paper, No. 12152. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3349935

15. Clark A. E., Oswald A. J. (1996). Satisfaction and comparison income. Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 61, No. 3, pp. 359—381. https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2727(95)01564-7

16. Croushore D., Stark T. (2019). Fifty years of the survey of professional forecasters. Economic Insights, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 1—11.

17. Curtin R. T. (2002). Surveys of сonsumers: Theory, methods, and interpretation. Paper presented at the NABE 44th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, September 30.

18. Delavande A. (2014). Probabilistic expectations in developing countries. Annual Review of Economics, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 1—20. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-072413-105148

19. Desvousges W. H., Johnson F. R., Dunford R. W., Hudson S. P., Wilson K. N., Boyle K. J. (1993). Measuring natural resource damages with contingent valuation: Tests of validity and reliability. In: J. A. Hausman (ed.). Contributions to economic analysis, Vol. 220. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 91—164. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-81469-2.50009-2

20. Dominitz J. (1998). Earnings expectations, revisions, and realizations. Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 80, No. 3, pp. 374—388. https://doi.org/10.1162/003465398557618

21. Easterlin R. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In: P. A. David, M. W. Reder (eds.). Nations and households in economic growth. New York and London: Academic Press, pp. 89—125. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-205050-3.50008-7

22. Easterlin R. (2004). The reluctant economist: Perspectives on economics, economic history and demography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

23. Edwards J. M. (2009). Joyful economists: Remarks on the history of economics and psychology from the happiness studies perspective. PhD thesis (economics and finance). Université Panthéon-Sorbonne — Paris I.

24. Edwards J. M. (2012a). Observing attitudes, intentions, and expectations (1945—73). History of Political Economy, Vol. 44, No. suppl_1, pp. 137—159. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-1631815

25. Edwards J. M. (2012b). The history of the use of self-reports and the methodology of economics. Journal of Economic Methodology, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 357—374. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2012.741691

26. Edwards J. M. (2016). Behaviorism and control in the history of economics and psychology. History of Political Economy, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Suppl.), pp. 170—197. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-3619262

27. Federal Reserve Consultant Committee on Consumer Survey Statistics (1955). Reports of the Federal Reserve Consultant Committee on Consumer Survey Statistics. Hearings of the Subcommittee on Economics Statistics of the Joint Committee on the Economic Report. Washington, DC: U.S. G.P.O.

28. Ferrer-i-Carbonell A., Frijters P. (2004). How important is methodology for the estimates of the determinants of happiness? Economic Journal, Vol. 114, No. 497, pp. 641—659. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2004.00235.x

29. Friedman M. (1953). Essays in positive economics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

30. Galbraith J. K. (1958). The affluent society. London: Hamish Hamilton.

31. Grosz M. P., Rohrer J. M., Thoemmes F. (2020). The taboo against explicit causal inference in nonexperimental psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, Vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 1243—1255. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620921521

32. Guiso L., Parigi G. (1999). Investment and demand uncertainty. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 114, No. 1, pp. 185—227. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355399555981

33. Hamermesh D. S. (1985). Expectations, life expectancy, and economic behavior. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 100, No. 2, pp. 389—408. https://doi.org/10.2307/1885388

34. Hamermesh D. S. (2004). Subjective outcomes in economics. Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 71, No. 1, pp. 1—11. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2325-8012.2004.tb00619.x

35. Kahneman D., Wakker P. P., Sarin R. (1997). Back to Bentham? Explorations of experienced utility. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 112, No. 2, pp. 375—406. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355397555235

36. Kaiser C., Oswald A. J. (2022). The scientific value of numerical measures of human feelings. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 119, No. 42, article e2210412119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2210412119

37. Katona G. (1951). Psychological analysis of economic behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill.

38. Katona G. (1957). Federal Reserve Board Committee reports on consumer expectations and savings statistics. Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 40—45. https://doi.org/10.2307/1926219

39. Kitchin R. (2014). Big data, new epistemologies and paradigm shifts. Big Data & Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, article 2053951714528481. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951714528481

40. Klein L. R., Özmucur S. (2010). The use of consumer and business surveys in forecasting. Economic Modelling, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 1453—1462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2010.07.005

41. Lehmann R. (2023). The forecasting power of the ifo business survey. Journal of Business Cycle Research, Vol. 19, pp. 43—94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41549-022-00079-5

42. Lester R. A. (1946). Shortcomings of marginal analysis for wage-employment problems. American Economic Review, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 63—82.

43. Lester R. A. (1947). Marginalism, minimum wages, and labor markets. American Economic Review, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 135—148.

44. Machlup F. (1946). Marginal analysis and empirical research. American Economic Review, Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 519—554.

45. Machlup F. (1947). Rejoinder to an аntimarginalist. American Economic Review, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 148—154.

46. MacKerron G. (2012). Happiness еconomics from 35 000 feet. Journal of Economic Surveys, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 705—735. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2010.00672.x

47. Manski C. F. (2004). Measuring еxpectations. Econometrica, Vol. 72, No. 5, pp. 1329—1376. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0262.2004.00537.x

48. Manski C. F. (2018). Survey measurement of probabilistic macroeconomic expectations: Progress and рromise. NBER Macroeconomics Annual, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 411—471. https://doi.org/10.1086/696061

49. Mayer T. (1993). Truth versus precision in economics. Aldershot: Edward Elgar.

50. McCloskey D. N. (1983). The rhetoric of economics. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 481—517.

51. Nerb G. (2005). Survey activity of the ifo institute. In: В. J.-E. Sturm, T. Wollmershäuser (eds.). Ifo survey data in business cycle and monetary policy analysis. Contributions to economics. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, pp. 1—15. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-7908-1605-1_1

52. Oparina E., Srisuma S. (2022). Analyzing subjective well-being data with misclassification. Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 730—743. https://doi.org/10.1080/07350015.2020.1865169

53. Panhans M. T., Singleton J. D. (2017). The empirical economist’s toolkit: From models to methods. History of Political Economy, Vol. 49, Supplement, pp. 127—157. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-4166299

54. Schröder C., Yitzhaki S. (2017). Revisiting the evidence for cardinal treatment of ordinal variables. European Economic Review, Vol. 92, pp. 337—358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2016.12.011

55. Scitovsky T. (1976). The joyless economy: An inquiry into human satisfaction and consumer dissatisfaction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

56. Shiller R. J. (1991). Why are prices sticky? Discussion. American Economic Review, Vol. 81, No. 2, pp. 97—98.

57. Stevenson B., Wolfers J. (2009). The paradox of declining female happiness. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 190—225. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.1.2.190

58. United Nations (2015). Handbook on economic tendency surveys (Statistical Papers, Series M, No. 96). New York: United Nations Publication.

59. van Praag B. M. S., Frijters P. (1999). The measurement of welfare and well-being: Тhe Leyden аpproach. In: D. Kahneman, E. Diener, N. Schwarz (eds.). Well being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, pp. 413—433.

60. Vermeulen P. (2014). An evaluation of business survey indices for short-term forecasting: Balance method versus Carlson—Parkin method. International Journal of Forecasting, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 882—897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijforecast.2014.02.011


Review

For citations:


Bakeev M.B., Lola I.S. The use of self-reports in economics: Methodological barriers and their overcoming. Voprosy Ekonomiki. 2023;(9):103-120. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2023-9-103-120

Views: 527


ISSN 0042-8736 (Print)