ARE CONSUMERS RICARDIAN - EVIDENCE FOR CANADA

This research derives three empirical implications of a well-specified model of consumer behavior, a model that nests both the possibility t hat consumers are Ricardian and an alternative theory. The hypothesis that consumers are Ricardian is then tested against this alternative h ypothesis. The tests reveal that the hypothesis that consumers are Ric ardian cannot be rejected. Moreover, even if Canadians are not Ricardi an consumers, their behavior is unlikely to differ much from that of R icardian consumers.