First wave effects in the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey - ARCHIVED

Panel responses to the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey are compared, to assess the magnitude of telescoping in the unbounded first wave. Analysis of selected expense categories confirms other studies’ findings that telescoping can be considerable in unbounded interviews and tends to vary by type of expense. In addition, estimates from the first wave are found to be greater than estimates derived from subsequent waves, even after telescoping effects are deducted, and much of these effects can be attributed to the shorter recall period in the first wave of this survey.