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May, 2000, Vol. 123, No. 5

Expenditure patterns of older Americans, 1984-97

Geoffrey D. Paulin 
Economist,  Division of Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Older consumers, who are expected to account for an increasing share of consumer expenditures, have spending trends similar to those of younger consumers; however the underlying tastes and preferences of subgroups of older consumers did not change significantly over the period studied. This article includes elements from earlier studies, but takes the analysis further: first, expenditure trends are analyzed for different age groups within the older population; second, experiments are designed to test whether tastes and preferences differ over time for older consumers.

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Related BLS programs
Consumer Expenditure Surveys

Related Monthly Labor Review articles
Elderly and nonelderly expenditures on necessities in the 1980s.—Sept. 1996. 
Expenditure patterns of retired and nonretired persons.—Apr. 1994. 
Spending by older consumers: 1980 and 1990 compared.—May 1993. 

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