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Home Equity Lending and Retail Spending: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Texas

Author

Listed:
  • Chadi S. Abdallah
  • William D. Lastrapes

Abstract

We estimate how spending in Texas responded to a 1997 constitutional amendment that relaxed severe restrictions on home equity lending. We use this event as a natural experiment to estimate the importance of credit constraints. If households are credit-constrained, such an increase in credit availability will increase their spending. We find that Texas retail sales at the county and state levels increased significantly after the amendment, lending support to the credit-constraint hypothesis. We confirm these findings and refine our interpretation of the estimated aggregate-level responses using household-level data on home equity loans. (JEL D14, E21, G21, G28)

Suggested Citation

  • Chadi S. Abdallah & William D. Lastrapes, 2012. "Home Equity Lending and Retail Spending: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Texas," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 94-125, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:4:y:2012:i:4:p:94-125
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mac.4.4.94
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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    1. Home Equity Lending and Retail Spending: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Texas (AEJ:MA 2012) in ReplicationWiki

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