Given that VAT/GST systems are primarily designed for the purchase of goods or services that yield immediate consumption, or consumption over a limited period of time, they do not cope well with goods that are consumed over a long, or indefinite, period. The classic example is a personal...

We quantify the housing-consumption channel in mortgage demand according to which households borrow more following house-price increases since housing and non-housing consumption are imperfect substitutes. To identify this channel, we take a structural approach to mortgage demand and supply,...