Using GIS to Identify the Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Consumer Sentiment

Using GIS to Identify the Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Consumer Sentiment

The impact of socioeconomic variables on Consumer Sentiment is expanded upon in this paper to take into account geospatial factors.  While the effects of socioeconomic variables on Consumer Sentiment are well documented in the literature, the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze how localized socioeconomic factors impact consumer sentiment is a new contribution.  Specifically, we investigate how the political geo-climate as well as socioeconomic geo-climate will impact an individual’s consumer sentiment using data from the March 2008 survey conducted by The Center for the Study of the Inland Empire (CSIE).  Data are collected from individuals living in Riverside, San Bernadino, and Los Angeles Counties in Southern California. The survey includes five questions on consumer sentiment that are identical to the questions used in the ongoing University of Michigan Survey Research Center’s Index of Consumer Sentiment in the U.S. Our evidence supports the hypothesis that political geo-climate has an impact on consumer sentiment.  Individuals living in areas that supported Obama in the 2008 general election are more likely to be more optimistic with regards to consumer sentiment.  We also investigate the impact of socio-economic geo-climate on consumer sentiment.