Beyond the headline: How personal exposure to inflation shapes the financial choices of households

Using a unique set of bank account-level data from a period of volatile inflation in a small open economy in 2005–11 and interactive fixed effect estimation, we find that individual consumption spending responds to personal inflation exposure beyond the headline rate. Households are exposed to different inflation because they have different expenditure baskets. For each percentage point of higher personal inflation rate, they increase their spending by 1.4%. These responses are consistent with intertemporal substitution when households form their inflation expectations from their personal experience. Increased spending is financed with savings or borrowing, except when households are liquidity-constrained or over-indebted. Extra demand when inflation is already high can make inflation persistent and dependent on its current distribution. • Individual exposure to inflation varies with household consumption baskets. • We show individuals to respond to personal inflation via intertemporal substitution. • Higher personal inflation raises spending, consistent with raising expected inflation. • Spending effects are smaller with lower liquid savings and higher levels of debt.