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House prices, private debt and the macroeconomics of comparative political economy

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  • James Wood
  • Engelbert Stockhammer

Abstract

Prevailing Comparative Political Economy accounts conceptualise the macroeconomic role of the financial sector in advanced economies either through the Varieties of Capitalism’s (VoC) emphasis on corporate finance or on the growth model perspective’s focus on household debt to support consumption. As neither framework accounts for the important macroeconomic influence of house prices and mortgage credit, we suggest the prevailing Comparative Political Economy accounts of the financial sector remain underdeveloped. Through an econometric evaluation of 18 advanced economies from 1980 to 2017, we demonstrate that household debt has larger and more statistically significant effects on GDP growth than business debt, and household debt volumes are largely determined by house price inflation. These results are consistent across the varieties of capitalism and advanced banking systems, suggesting the VoC’s focus on corporate finance is misplaced and the macroeconomic effects of household debt and house prices are underappreciated, especially in non-Anglo-American advanced economies.

Suggested Citation

  • James Wood & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2020. "House prices, private debt and the macroeconomics of comparative political economy," Working Papers PKWP2005, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    • Handle: RePEc:pke:wpaper:pkwp2005
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    Cited by:

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    2. Karsten Kohler & Benjamin Tippet & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2023. "House price cycles, housing systems, and growth models," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 20(3), pages 461-490, December.
    3. Sebastian Kohl & Alexander Spielau, 2022. "Centring construction in the political economy of housing: variegated growth regimes after the Keynesian construction state," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 46(3), pages 465-490.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Comparative political economy; macroeconomics; household debt; house prices;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative

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