Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/130702
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
Working Papers No. 15-12
Publisher: 
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston, MA
Abstract: 
U.S. consumption has gone through steep ups and downs since 2000, but the causes of these fluctuations are still imperfectly identified. We quantify the relative statistical impact of income, unemployment, house prices, credit scores, debt, expectations, foreclosures, inequality, and refinancings on consumption growth for four subperiods: the "dot-com recession" (2001-2003), the "subprime boom" (2004-2006), the Great Recession (2007-2009), and the "tepid recovery" (2010-2012). We document that the explanatory power of different factors varies by subperiods, implying that a successful modeling of this entire decade needs to allow for multiple determinants of consumption. Unemployment, income, and debt are important determinants of consumption during all four periods.
JEL: 
E21
E37
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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