This book explores the principal issues involved in bridging the gap between the pure theory of consumer behavior and its empirical implementation. The theoretical starting point is the familiar static, one-period, utility maximizing model in which the consumer allocates a fixed budget among competing categories of goods. The authors focus upon four issues of primary importance in empirical demand analysis: the structure of preferences, the treatment of demographic variables, treatment of dynamics, and the specification of the stochastic structure of the demand system.

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Robert A. Pollak is at University of Pennsylvania. Terence J. Wales is at University of British Columbia.

"Those who are or aspire to be demand analysts whill want to buy this book, read it through, refer to it often, and thank Pollak and Wales for their efforts."--The Journal of Consumer Affairs

"It will be valuable for economists beginning work on consumer demand or on topics where an understanding of the theory is important....It is also useful for researchers who are familiar with the literature because of the insight the authors provide in drawing together and interpreting information."--Journal of Economic Literature