A Behavioural Cost-of-Living Index (Public)
Project
A Behavioural Cost-of-Living Index
Study ID sspp-2026-0038-v1
Study Title A Behavioural Cost-of-Living Index
Authors Hubert Wu
Completion Time 5 Minutes
Close Date (UTC) Nov. 8, 2026
Discipline Economics
Field Microeconomic Theory, Public Economics, Behavioral Economics
Country United Kingdom
Abstract
The cost of living underpins modern welfare measurement but assumes fully rational consumers. In this study, I embed bounded rationality into classical index-number concepts, yielding a behavioural cost-of-living index that is identified with traditional data via revealed preference and which reduces to the classical measure under full attention. Part of this project involves a survey experiment studying how accurately consumers perceive prices and inflation. Specifically, an online survey of 750 UK adults recruited through Prolific will estimate prices for a range of everyday goods and services. Half of the sample will be randomly assigned to receive feedback comparing their estimates with benchmark prices. This survey asks you to predict the key aggregate results of the survey and experiment.
Study ID sspp-2026-0038-v1
Study Title A Behavioural Cost-of-Living Index
Authors Hubert Wu
Completion Time 5 Minutes
Close Date (UTC) Nov. 8, 2026
Discipline Economics
Field Microeconomic Theory, Public Economics, Behavioral Economics
Country United Kingdom
Abstract
The cost of living underpins modern welfare measurement but assumes fully rational consumers. In this study, I embed bounded rationality into classical index-number concepts, yielding a behavioural cost-of-living index that is identified with traditional data via revealed preference and which reduces to the classical measure under full attention. Part of this project involves a survey experiment studying how accurately consumers perceive prices and inflation. Specifically, an online survey of 750 UK adults recruited through Prolific will estimate prices for a range of everyday goods and services. Half of the sample will be randomly assigned to receive feedback comparing their estimates with benchmark prices. This survey asks you to predict the key aggregate results of the survey and experiment.
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