The effect of wealth on consumption is an issue of longstanding interest to economists. Analysts believe that fluctuations in household wealth have driven major swings in economic activity. This paper considers so-called wealth effects - the impact of changes in wealth on household consumption...

This paper examines the role increasing personal wealth and home equity withdrawal (HEW) have had in the decline in the personal saving rate in the United States. It does so by comparing the U.S. experience with those of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Mortgage market liberalization...

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. HAVE SAVING RATES REALLY FALLEN? -- III. LIKELY IMPACT OF FINANCIAL INNOVATION AND LIBERALIZATION ON HOME EQUITY WITHDRAWAL ( HEW) AND SAVING -- IV. TRENDS IN HEWAND HOUSEHOLD SAVING ACROSS COUNTRIES -- V. HOW DOES HEW AFFECT HOUSEHOLD SAVING? -- VI....