Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/226336 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 8634
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
We conduct an experiment with a representative sample from the US to study households' demand for macroeconomic information. Respondents who learn of a higher personal exposure to unemployment risk during recessions increase their demand for an expert forecast about the likelihood of a recession. Our findings are consistent with the basic premise of theories of rational inattention that demand for information depends on its expected benefit. Moreover, the fact that perceived risk exposure responds to information highlights frictions in households' knowledge about the personal relevance of particular pieces of information. Our findings inform the modeling of information frictions in macroeconomics.
Subjects: 
risk exposure
macroeconomic conditions
information acquisition
experiment
JEL: 
D12
D14
D83
D84
E32
G11
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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