We study the consumption response to typical labor income shocks and investigate how these vary by wealth and race. First, we estimate the elasticity of consumption with respect to income using an instrument based on firm-wide changes in monthly pay. While much of the consumption-smoothing...

Even amidst strong macroeconomic conditions, families experience high levels of income volatility that have important implications for well-being. Families with limited liquid assets are dramatically less likely to smooth consumption in the face of income fluctuations, and it stands to reason...

In this report JPMorgan Chase Institute assembled a de-identified sample of 160,000 regular Chase customers who received unemployment insurance (UI) between 2014 and 2016 across 18 states to evaluate the role that UI plays in mitigating the financial impacts of job loss. Our results show that UI...

We use U.S. household-level bank account data to investigate the heterogeneous effects of the pandemic on spending and savings. Households across the income distribution all cut spending from March to early April. Since mid April, spending has rebounded most rapidly for low-income households. We...

We use U.S. household-level bank account data to investigate the heterogeneous effects of the pandemic on spending and savings. Households across the income distribution all cut spending from March to early April. Since mid April, spending has rebounded most rapidly for low-income households. We...

During the Covid-19 pandemic, unemployment insurance (UI) benefits have taken on an unprecedented role in the United States economy. In May 2020, total UI benefits were equal to 14.6 percent of total wages, more than five times the Great Recession peak. This is due to two factors: first, the...

We estimate the elasticity of consumption with respect to income using an instrument based on firm-wide changes in pay. While much of the consumption-smoothing literature uses variation in unusual windfall income, this instrument captures the temporary income variation that households typically...

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress expanded unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in three ways. First, it increased the level of benefits through a $600 and then a $300 per week supplement. Second, it expanded the pool of workers who are eligible to receive UI via the Pandemic...