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The demographics of household inflation perceptions

Christina Leung

The Reserve Bank is interested in households’ inflation expectations, as they can provide useful insight into how inflation pressures have evolved in the economy. The Marketscope survey of household inflation expectations suggests that households consistently over-predict inflation. This article uses the Marketscope survey unit record data to find the possible drivers of the average level of over-prediction in household inflation expectations. Gaining a better understanding of how various demographic groups participate (or not, as the case may be) in the survey, and their different perceptions of inflation, enables the Reserve Bank to obtain a more accurate read of households’ true inflation perceptions. It discusses ways in which the Reserve Bank can improve households’ understanding of inflation developments in the economy.