In 2005, mortgage interest, capital deductions and insurance premiums (MICPD) were assembled into one single deduction package to further stimulate home ownership in Belgium. Former research has shown that the MICPD did not raise the probability of becoming a home owner, due to its...

We analyze the effect of import competition on household balance sheets from 2000 to 2007 using individual data on consumer finances. We exploit variation in exposure to foreign competition using industry-level shipping costs and initial differences in regions' industry specialization. We show...