We document four features of consumption and income microdata: (1) household-level consumption is as volatile as household income on average, (2) household-level consumption has a positive but small correlation with income, (3) many low-wealth households have marginal propensities to consume...

Most macroeconomic models imply that increases in government spending cause interest rates to rise, but empirical evidence from the U.S. generally fails to support this prediction. We propose a novel explanation for how government spending can have a muted or negative temporary effect on...

In response to the record-breaking COVID19 recession, many governments have adopted unprecedented fiscal stimuli. While countercyclical fiscal policy is effective in fighting conventional recessions, little is known about the effectiveness of fiscal policy in the current environment with...

We document four features of consumption and income microdata: 1) household-level consumption is as volatile as household income on average, 2) household-level consumption has a positive but small correlation with income, 3) many low-wealth households have marginal propensities to consume near...