Trendy v podnikání (Jun 2017)
Rekondiční masáže spotřeby prováděné centrálními bankami – experimentální verifikace
Abstract
The contribution verifies the mainstream economics lemma that inflation stimulates consumption expenditures and vice versa deflation results in giving up of present consumption. We suggested the experimental design suitable for consumption-saving decision-making under different inflation and relative prices variability. More than four hundreds of students took part in the experiment. In each round they received some income and they must decide whether to buy one of the three durable goods or to buy nothing. The prices of the goods were displayed as well the utility of money holdings. Money holdings at the end of the round became the initial endowment for the next round, where they received new income. The utility of each durable goods was known and the goal of experiment participants was to maximize the sum of utility in all played rounds. The total amount of rounds was randomly generated and the participants didn't know it before. Five different set-ups of the experiment were realized. First zero inflation with middle variability of relative prices and then four combinations of positive or negative inflation and high or low relative prices variability. The nominal income received at the beginning of each period follows the inflation or deflation so the real income was still the same. The results show that there is no difference between consumption behaviour under inflationary and deflationary framework. Experimental subject didn't feel the aggregate price index as significant for their decisions and focused only on relative prices. In set-ups where the changes in relative prices were easily to recognize (i.e. higher variability), the negative correlation between price and consumption of individual good was relatively significant. The experimental results cannot verify the mainstream economics lemma about different consumption-saving behaviour under inflation or deflation; they rather confirm the monetary business cycle theory supported by Austrian school.
