This paper proposes a method for computing a unique longitudinal consumption measure for the total population of Norwegian households from administrative records, covering a period of almost 20 years. Administrative data has the advantage of full population coverage, avoiding problems with attrition or underrepresentation of high-income households. This is particularly useful for improving the measurement of heterogeneity in consumption behavior, and for measuring consumption distribution and inequality. Furthermore, longitudinal micro data with full population coverage provides unique opportunities to explore the underlying developments in aggregate consumption measures over time.
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