Common Retrospective Economic Perception Items Show Good Test-Retest Reliability

Retrospective economic perception items dominate economic voting research. Though they are well-used, their measurement properties are not well-known In this short note, I assess the items’ test-retest reliability for the first time. I make three contributions. First, I show that the items have good test-retest reliability. Second, I show that personal items are more reliable than national ones. Third, I show that the items’ reliability likely does not affect model parameter estimates. Thus, though these items have their problems, reliability is likely not one of them.