Sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) are the most detailed source of expenditure data collected directly from households by the Federal government. In addition, information on income, assets and liabilities, and demographics are collected from a large, nationally representative sample of consumers. The result is a unique and rich source of data of interest to researchers, educators, advocates, policymakers, and others in a variety of fields. Moreover, these data, both tabular and at the household level (i.e., microdata), are publicly available for free download.
The goal of the session is to introduce attendees regardless of their career stage (undergraduate to experienced professional) to a new data set, and to CE staff who can assist them in use of these data. The data are useful to those interested in consumer economics generally, and/or in financial planning and related topics.
This session features a panel of presenters, all of whom are early in their careers. For most or all, the CE data compose the first major data set with which they have worked professionally. Five are from the CE program, while one is a professor of economics who is not affiliated with the BLS.
