Five Facts about MPCs: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2025
Volume: 115
Issue: 1
Pages: 1-42

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

We present five facts from an experiment on the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) out of transitory transfers: (1) the one-month MPC on a cash-like transfer is 23 percent; (2) it is substantially higher (61 percent) on a transfer administered via a card where remaining funds expire after three weeks, inconsistent with money fungibility; (3) the consumption response is concentrated in the first three weeks; (4) MPCs vary with household characteristics but are high even for the liquid wealthy; (5) unconditional MPC distribution exhibits large variation. Our findings inform the design of stimulus policies and pose challenges to existing macroeconomic models.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:115:y:2025:i:1:p:1-42
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24