Across the decade to 2007, a combination of house price appreciation and relaxed credit constraints gave a boost to consumption through the mechanism of mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW). Arguably, this kept developed economies buoyant, even through periods of recession. This paper uses panel...

Across the decade to 2007, a combination of house price appreciation and relaxed credit constraints gave a boost to consumption through the mechanism of mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW). Arguably, this kept developed economies buoyant, even through periods of recession. This paper uses panel...

During the early 2000s, mortgage market innovation together with home price appreciation increased the scope for mortgage equity withdrawal. From a macroeconomic perspective, this proved to be an important transmission mechanism for the wealth (particularly collateral) effects of housing....