We study the severity of liquidity constraints in the U.S. housing market using a life-cycle model with uninsurable idiosyncratic risks in which houses are illiquid, but agents have the option to extract home equity by refinancing their long-term mortgages. The model implies that three quarters...

This paper examines the relationship between aggregate consumer spending and credit availability in the United States. The author finds that consumer spending falls (rises) in response to a reduction (increase) in credit availability. Moreover, she provides a formal assessment of the possibility...

We argue that the U.S. personal saving rate's long stability (1960s-1980s), subsequent steady decline (1980s-2007), and recent substantial rise (2008-2011) can be interpreted using a parsimonious 'buffer stock' model of consumption in the presence of labor income uncertainty and credit...

We argue that the US personal saving rate's long stability (1960s-1980s), subsequent steady decline (1980s-2007), and recent substantial rise (2008-2011) can be interpreted using a parsimonious "buffer stock" model of consumption in the presence of labor income uncertainty and credit...

Various deviations from the Permanent Income consumption model with rational expectations have been discussed in the literature, including loss aversion and liquidity constraints. In the existing literature, these two types of consumption asymmetry are usually considered as mutually exclusive....

We revisit recent evidence on how monetary policy affects output and prices in the U.S. and in the euro area. The response patterns to a shift in monetary policy are similar in most respects, but differ noticeably as to the composition of output changes. In the euro area investment is the...

The article examines to what extent the recovery of the global economy could gain support from a more balanced growth of global demand than in the past. Despite the gradual recovery of the global economy, it remains highly uncertain when – or even whether – growth can return to the often...

This paper analyzes the conflicting explanations of the global imbalances’ pattern and the size of the US external deficit. In this document, it is argued that, far from being incompatible, the explanations suggested are part of a broader story. The drop of the US saving rate has played a...

The balance of outstanding student loan debt has risen sharply in the United States since 2008. At the same time, economic prospects for young graduates have worsened, leading to an increase in defaults on student loans. The trend is already having visible repercussions on the US economy;...