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The Effect of Disaggregate Information on the Expectation Formation of Firms

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  • Buchheim, Lukas
  • Link, Sebastian
Abstract
This paper studies a new aspect of firms’ expectation formation by asking whether expectations primarily reflect aggregate, industry-wide information (e.g., industry trends) or disaggregate information (e.g., firm-specific information). First, we show that disaggregate information is strongly associated with expectations even when controlling for aggregate information at high-dimensional industry levels. Moreover, aggregate and disaggregate information explain comparable shares of the variance in expectations. Second, we exploit a natural experiment to identify the causal effect of new information on expectations. The predictable demand effects for durable goods due to the German VAT increase of 2007 implied that, at the time, durable goods retailers had access to more reliable information about their future demand than non-durable goods retailers. Utilizing this observation in a difference-in-differences design, we find that “treated” firms were significantly more forward-looking ahead of the VAT-induced demand shifts. Overall, our results suggest that firms rationally incorporate disagreggate information into their expectations.

Suggested Citation

  • Buchheim, Lukas & Link, Sebastian, 2017. "The Effect of Disaggregate Information on the Expectation Formation of Firms," Discussion Papers in Economics 41214, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenec:41214
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    Cited by:

    1. Anja Kukuvec & Harald Oberhofer, 2020. "The Propagation of Business Expectations within the European Union," CESifo Working Paper Series 8198, CESifo.
    2. Nakazono, Yoshiyuki & Koga, Maiko & Sugo, Tomohiro, 2020. "Private information and analyst coverage: Evidence from firm survey data," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 284-298.
    3. Enders, Zeno & Hünnekes, Franziska & Müller, Gernot J., 2019. "Monetary policy announcements and expectations: Evidence from german firms," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 45-63.
    4. Samina Sultan, 2020. "Who Carries the Burden of the Value-Added Tax? Evidence from Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 8803, CESifo.
    5. Lena Boneva & James Cloyne & Martin Weale & Tomasz Wieladek, 2020. "Firms' Price, Cost and Activity Expectations: Evidence from Micro Data," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(627), pages 555-586.
    6. Robert Lehmann, 2023. "The Forecasting Power of the ifo Business Survey," Journal of Business Cycle Research, Springer;Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys (CIRET), vol. 19(1), pages 43-94, March.
    7. Sebastian Link, 2018. "Harmonization and Interpretation of the ifo Business Survey's Micro Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 7427, CESifo.
    8. Han, Xun & Ma, Sichao & Peng, Yuchao & Xie, Xinyan, 2022. "Central bank communication, corporate maturity mismatch and innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    9. Link Sebastian, 2020. "Harmonization of the ifo Business Survey’s Micro Data," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 240(4), pages 543-555, August.
    10. Bachmann, Rüdiger, 2019. "Comments on “Monetary policy announcements and expectations: Evidence from German firms”," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 64-68.
    11. Ruediger Bachmann & Kai Carstensen & Stefan Lautenbacher & Martin Schneider, 2021. "Uncertainty and Change: Survey Evidence of Firms' Subjective Beliefs," NBER Working Papers 29430, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Expectation Formation; Firm Behavior; Survey Data; Natural Experiments in Macroeconomics; Heterogeneity in Expectations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes

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