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Household Debt and Fiscal Multipliers

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  • J. Andrés
  • J. E. Boscá
  • J. Ferri

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="ecca12161-abs-0001"> We study the size of government spending multipliers in a general equilibrium model with search and matching frictions in which we allow for different levels of household indebtedness. The main results are: (a) the presence of impatient households and private debt helps to generate government spending multipliers greater than 1; (b) as financial conditions worsen, the size of the government spending multiplier falls; (c) conversely, employment, vacancies and unemployment multipliers are larger in a credit crunch; (d) the model explains the observed pattern of responses of labour market variables, housing prices and private debt to a fiscal shock reasonably well.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Andrés & J. E. Boscá & J. Ferri, 2015. "Household Debt and Fiscal Multipliers," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82, pages 1048-1081, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:econom:v:82:y:2015:i::p:1048-1081
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    4. Marco Bernardini & Selien De Schryder & Gert Peersman, 2020. "Heterogeneous Government Spending Multipliers in the Era Surrounding the Great Recession," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(2), pages 304-322, May.
    5. Choi, Sangyup & Shin, Junhyeok, 2023. "Household indebtedness and the macroeconomic effects of tax changes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 22-52.
    6. Egan, Paul & Bergin, Adele, 2023. "The impact of government spending on Ireland’s housing and residential market – Targeted vs economy-wide stimulus," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 552-569.
    7. Thierry Betti & Thomas Coudert, 2022. "How harmful are cuts in public employment and wage in times of high unemployment?," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(1), pages 247-277, January.
    8. Javier Andrés & José E. Boscá & Javier Ferri & Cristina Fuentes‐Albero, 2022. "Households' Balance Sheets and the Effect of Fiscal Policy," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 54(4), pages 737-778, June.
    9. Yifei Lyu, 2021. "The Macroeconomic Effects of Government Spending Shocks in New Zealand," Treasury Working Paper Series 21/02, New Zealand Treasury.

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