In his widely discussed book 'Fault Lines'(2010), Raghuram Rajan argues that many low
and middle income consumers have reduced their saving and increased debt since income …

Consumer expenditure accounts for between 50% and 70% of spending in most economies.
Not surprisingly, the consumption function has been the most studied of the aggregate …

W HY DO PEOPLE save? J. Maynard Keynes (1936) lists eight motives which we reproduce
here with one addi-tion: 1 1." To build up a reserve against unforeseen contingencies"(the …

The question of whether higher–lifetime income households save a larger fraction of their
income was the subject of much debate in the 1950s and 1960s, and while not resolved, it …

The article analyses the rise in household indebtedness from the point of view of its causes
and long-run macroeconomic implications. The analysis is focussed on the US case …

HOUSE PRICES have recently attracted unusual attention because for the first time in
decades large areas in the United States have experienced declining nominal house prices …

Downward pressure on the natural rate of interest (r*) is often attributed to an increase in
saving. This study uses microeconomic data from the SCF+ to explore the relative …

A LONG-STANDING, positive relationship between the economic wellbeing of the poor and
the growth of the economy has changed. In the 1960s rapid economic growth and a …

There is an emerging policy and academic discussion, supported by a growing body of
empirical evidence, regarding the potentially positive effects of asset accumulation in low …

Why do rising incomes not make people happier? Some argue that it is because we quickly
become accustomed to our new acquisitions. Others would say that it is because relative …