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Response of Consumption to Income, Credit and Interest Rate Changes in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Penelope A. Smith

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne)

  • Lei Lei Song

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne)

Abstract

This paper examines the response of consumption to income, credit and interest rate changes in Australia. In contrast to previous studies on consumption in Australian, this paper adopts an Euler equation approach. The Euler equation derives from the consumers' utility maximising problem under the assumption that rule of thumb consumers have borrowing restrictions. To assess the role of credit explicitly, credit variables are also included in the Euler equation. The paper further assumes that coe±cients are time-varying. The results con¯rm the signi¯cant e®ects of income and credit on consumption and also reveal that while consumption growth is not responsive to interest rate changes, the coe±cient on the real interest rate was time varying and the coe±cient becomes smaller in absolute terms since the mid 1990s. This implies that consumption may have been less responsive to interest rate changes since then.

Suggested Citation

  • Penelope A. Smith & Lei Lei Song, 2005. "Response of Consumption to Income, Credit and Interest Rate Changes in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2005n20, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
  • Handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2005n20
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    File URL: http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/working_paper_series/wp2005n20.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. John Y. Campbell & N. Gregory Mankiw, 1989. "Consumption, Income, and Interest Rates: Reinterpreting the Time Series Evidence," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1989, Volume 4, pages 185-246, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Smith Penelope & Summers Peter M, 2009. "Regime Switches in GDP Growth and Volatility: Some International Evidence and Implications for Modeling Business Cycles," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, September.
    6. John Simon, 2001. "The Decline in Australian Output Volatility," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2001-01, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    7. Hansen, Lars Peter & Singleton, Kenneth J, 1983. "Stochastic Consumption, Risk Aversion, and the Temporal Behavior of Asset Returns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(2), pages 249-265, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ross Guest & Nick Parr, 2010. "The Effects of Family Benefits on Childbearing Decisions: A Household Optimising Approach Applied to Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 86(275), pages 609-619, December.

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