The Federal Reserve Board eagle logo links to Board's home page

International Finance Discussion Papers
The International Finance Discussion Papers logo links to the International Finance Discussion Papers home page Housing Wealth and Consumption
Matteo Iacoviello
2011-1027  (August 2011)

Abstract:  Housing wealth is about one half of household net worth, and consumption is a considerable fraction (about two thirds) of Gross Domestic Product in the United States. Empirically, movements in housing wealth are associated with movements in consumption in the same direction. This observation has led many economists, commentators and policy makers to study how housing wealth and consumption are linked together. A sizeable portion of the comovement between housing wealth and consumption reflects common factors driving both variables, rather than the "wealth effect" of the former on the latter; however, a growing body of evidence suggests that the comovement is larger in developed financial markets and in the presence of liquidity constraints.

Full paper (125 KB PDF) | Full paper (screen reader version)

Keywords
Borrowing constraints, consumption, consumption function, household budget

PDF files: Adobe Acrobat Reader   ZIP files: PKWARE


Home | IFDPs | List of 2011 IFDPs
Accessibility | Contact Us
Last update: August 16, 2011