Consumption and Debt Response to Unanticipated Income Shocks: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Singapore

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2014
Volume: 104
Issue: 12
Pages: 4205-30

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

This paper uses a unique panel dataset of consumer financial transactions to study how consumers respond to an exogenous unanticipated income shock. Consumption rose significantly after the fiscal policy announcement: during the ten subsequent months, for each $1 received, consumers on average spent $0.80. We find a strong announcement effect -- 19 percent of the response occurs during the first two-month announcement period via credit cards. Subsequently, consumers switched to debit cards after disbursement before finally increasing spending on credit cards in the later months. Consumers with low liquid assets or with low credit card limit experienced stronger consumption responses. (JEL D12, D14, E21)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:104:y:2014:i:12:p:4205-30
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24