The measurement of changes in real income under conditions of rationing in the United States during World War II

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 2. The data and some key facts and figures
  • 2.1. Data
  • 2.2. Key economic indicators of the U.S. economy
• 3. Estimating the households' demand system
  • 3.1. Deriving the estimation equation
  • 3.2. The estimation of the households' preferences using the method of ordinary least squares
    • 3.2.1. A general view on linear models.
    • 3.2.2. The OLS-estimation
• 4. Discrepancies in demand and exact deflators
  • 4.1. Differences between actual and notional demand.
  • 4.2. An outline of index number theory
  • 4.3. Exact deflators
• 5. Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This paper aims to measure changes in real income under conditions of rationing in the United States during World War II. This involves the estimation of a demand system and the calculation of exact deflators for real income comparisons. The study focuses on understanding the impact of wartime rationing on household spending patterns and real income levels.

• Measurement of real income change during wartime rationing.
• Estimation of a demand system for households.
• Calculation of exact deflators to account for price and quantity changes.
• Analysis of discrepancies between actual and notional demand.
• Impact of rationing on household consumption patterns.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter provides an overview of the research topic and its significance. It highlights the challenges of measuring real income changes during wartime rationing and outlines the research objectives.
• Chapter 2: The data and some key facts and figures This chapter presents the data used for the study, including key economic indicators of the U.S. economy during the war. It provides a detailed description of the data sources and their limitations.
• Chapter 3: Estimating the households' demand system This chapter focuses on estimating the households' demand system, using the method of ordinary least squares. It explains the derivation of the estimation equation and discusses the results of the estimation.
• Chapter 4: Discrepancies in demand and exact deflators This chapter examines the discrepancies between actual and notional demand and presents an outline of index number theory. It then discusses the calculation of exact deflators for real income comparisons.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This research focuses on the measurement of real income changes under wartime rationing, using a demand system estimation and exact deflators. Key concepts include household consumption patterns, rationing, price indices, index number theory, and the impact of wartime economic conditions on consumer behavior.