An article published December 16 by the Pew Research Center examines the relationship between lower gas prices and consumer confidence in the economy. The article cites research by Douglas Lamdin, professor of economics, and Mark Johnson, a professor at Loyola University Maryland. Their research found a negative relationship between changes in gas prices and their impact on consumer sentiment. The excerpt from the Pew Research Center article can be found below:
“[The Pew Research Center] plotted the monthly consumer-sentiment index against the monthly average price of regular gas (adjusted for inflation) and found a moderately strong negative correlation — that is, consumer sentiment rose as pump prices fell. That aligns with previous research: For example, a 2012 paper from two researchers at Loyola University Maryland and the University of Maryland Baltimore County not only found an inverse correlation between gas prices and consumer sentiment, but used causality testing to conclude that price changes predicted sentiment changes and not the other way around.”
To read the full article in Pew Research Center news titled “Do lower gas prices make for confident consumers, click here.
