Mortgage payments and household consumption in urban China

C-Tier
Journal: Economic Modeling
Year: 2020
Volume: 93
Issue: C
Pages: 100-111

Authors (3)

Zhao, Da (not in RePEc) Chen, Yifan (not in RePEc) Shen, Jim.H. (Harvard University)

Score contribution per author:

0.335 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

By exploiting variation both in mortgage payoffs and mortgage interest-rate resets, we find that a decline in mortgage payments induces a significant increase in nondurable goods spending, even when households have substantial amounts of liquidity. Following mortgage payoff, households increase consumption expenditures by 61% of the original payment. In comparison, households increase consumption by only 36% in response to a transitory payment adjustment induced by interest rate changes. Households with a higher payment-to-income ratio have a significantly lower marginal propensity to consume (MPC). These results have practical implications for policy markers seeking to design consumption boosting policies and are important for understanding how changes in monetary policy may affect consumer spending patterns.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:ecmode:v:93:y:2020:i:c:p:100-111
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-29