IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eecrev/v180y2025ics0014292125002016.html

Housing and consumption volatility: the role of rental price rigidity

Author

Listed:
  • Shin, Wonmun

Abstract

Business cycles in emerging economies tend to exhibit greater volatility in both housing prices and relative consumption compared to those in rich countries. This paper documents a positive cross-country relationship between house price volatility and relative consumption volatility and explores the underlying mechanisms using a small open economy model with housing and rental markets. While housing consumption, as measured by rental prices, constitutes a sizable share of total consumption, the role of the rental market has been largely overlooked. By explicitly modeling both housing and rental sectors, the paper explains a new stylized fact: housing consumption is more volatile than non-housing consumption in emerging countries. Model simulations show that financial frictions drive the positive correlation between house prices and consumption volatility, while cross-country differences in rental price rigidity explain the variation in relative housing consumption volatility. A rent rigidity index, constructed from country-level rental market characteristics, provides supporting evidence for the model’s predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Shin, Wonmun, 2025. "Housing and consumption volatility: the role of rental price rigidity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:180:y:2025:i:c:s0014292125002016
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.105151
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014292125002016
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.105151?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wenli Li & Rui Yao, 2007. "The Life-Cycle Effects of House Price Changes," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(6), pages 1375-1409, September.
    2. Aysoy, Cem & Aysoy, Cevriye & Tumen, Semih, 2014. "Quantifying and explaining stickiness in housing rents: A Turkish case study with micro-level data," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 62-74.
    3. Matteo Iacoviello, 2005. "House Prices, Borrowing Constraints, and Monetary Policy in the Business Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(3), pages 739-764, June.
    4. Ms. Nan Geng, 2018. "Fundamental Drivers of House Prices in Advanced Economies," IMF Working Papers 2018/164, International Monetary Fund.
    5. Javier Garcia-Cicco & Roberto Pancrazi & Martin Uribe, 2010. "Real Business Cycles in Emerging Countries?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2510-2531, December.
    6. Patrick McGuire & Goetz Peter & Sonya Zhu, 2025. "International Finance Through the Lens of BIS Statistics: Residence vs Nationality," Springer Books, in: Ursula Schipper & Robert Kirchner & Jens Walter (ed.), Measuring International Economics, pages 189-206, Springer.
    7. Andrés, Javier & Arce, Óscar & Thomas, Carlos, 2017. "Structural reforms in a debt overhang," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 15-34.
    8. Ambrogio Cesa‐Bianchi & Luis Felipe Cespedes & Alessandro Rebucci, 2015. "Global Liquidity, House Prices, and the Macroeconomy: Evidence from Advanced and Emerging Economies," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(S1), pages 301-335, 03.
    9. Mark Aguiar & Gita Gopinath, 2007. "Emerging Market Business Cycles: The Cycle Is the Trend," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115(1), pages 69-102.
    10. Wenli Li & Haiyong Liu & Fang Yang & Rui Yao, 2016. "Housing Over Time And Over The Life Cycle: A Structural Estimation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57, pages 1237-1260, November.
    11. Minetti, Raoul & Peng, Tao, 2013. "Lending constraints, real estate prices and business cycles in emerging economies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 2397-2416.
    12. James D. Hamilton, 2018. "Why You Should Never Use the Hodrick-Prescott Filter," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(5), pages 831-843, December.
    13. Shimizu, Chihiro & Nishimura, Kiyohiko G. & Watanabe, Tsutomu, 2010. "Residential rents and price rigidity: Micro structure and macro consequences," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 282-299, June.
    14. Stefan Avdjiev & Patrick McGuire & Goetz von Peter, 2025. "International finance through the lens of BIS statistics: derivatives markets," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, December.
    15. Case Karl E. & Quigley John M. & Shiller Robert J., 2005. "Comparing Wealth Effects: The Stock Market versus the Housing Market," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-34, May.
    16. Fang Yang, 2009. "Consumption over the Life Cycle: How Different is Housing?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 12(3), pages 423-443, July.
    17. Ambrogio Cesa‐Bianchi & Luis Felipe Cespedes & Alessandro Rebucci, 2015. "Global Liquidity, House Prices, and the Macroeconomy: Evidence from Advanced and Emerging Economies," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(S1), pages 301-335, March.
    18. Guerrieri, Luca & Iacoviello, Matteo, 2015. "OccBin: A toolkit for solving dynamic models with occasionally binding constraints easily," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 22-38.
    19. Gete, Pedro, 2020. "Expectations and the housing boom and bust. An open economy view," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    20. Andrés Fernández & Adam Gulan, 2015. "Interest Rates, Leverage, and Business Cycles in Emerging Economies: The Role of Financial Frictions," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 153-188, July.
    21. Campbell, John Y. & Cocco, Joao F., 2007. "How do house prices affect consumption? Evidence from micro data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 591-621, April.
    22. Schmitt-Grohe, Stephanie & Uribe, Martin, 2003. "Closing small open economy models," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 163-185, October.
    23. Funke, Michael & Paetz, Michael, 2013. "Housing prices and the business cycle: An empirical application to Hong Kong," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 62-76.
    24. Uribe, Martin & Yue, Vivian Z., 2006. "Country spreads and emerging countries: Who drives whom?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 6-36, June.
    25. Wenli Li & Rui Yao, 2007. "The Life‐Cycle Effects of House Price Changes," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(6), pages 1375-1409, September.
    26. Gallin, Joshua & Verbrugge, Randal J., 2019. "A theory of sticky rents: Search and bargaining with incomplete information," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 478-519.
    27. David Genesove, 2003. "The Nominal Rigidity of Apartment Rents," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(4), pages 844-853, November.
    28. Emine Boz & Christian Daude & Bora Durdu, 2008. "Emerging market business cycles revisited: learning about the trend," International Finance Discussion Papers 927, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    29. Alessandro Calza & Tommaso Monacelli & Livio Stracca, 2013. "Housing Finance And Monetary Policy," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11, pages 101-122, January.
    30. Torsten Ehlers & Bryan Hardy & Patrick McGuire, 2025. "International finance through the lens of BIS statistics: the international dimensions of credit," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, March.
    31. Piazzesi, Monika & Schneider, Martin & Tuzel, Selale, 2007. "Housing, consumption and asset pricing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 531-569, March.
    32. Wenli Li & Haiyong Liu & Fang Yang & Rui Yao, 2016. "Housing Over Time And Over The Life Cycle: A Structural Estimation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1237-1260, November.
    33. Shin, Wonmun, 2022. "A New angle on excess consumption volatility in emerging countries: Does house price matter?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    34. Stokey, Nancy L., 2009. "Moving costs, nondurable consumption and portfolio choice," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 144(6), pages 2419-2439, November.
    35. Sommer, Kamila & Sullivan, Paul & Verbrugge, Randal, 2013. "The equilibrium effect of fundamentals on house prices and rents," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 854-870.
    36. Carlos Cuerpo & Peter Pontuch & Sona Kalantaryan, 2014. "Rental Market Regulation in the European Union," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 515, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    37. Chihiro Shimizu & Kiyohiko G. Nishimura & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2010. "Residential Rents and Price Rigidity: Micro Structure and Macro Consequences," NBER Chapters, in: Sticky Prices and Inflation Dynamics (NBER-TCER-CEPR), pages 282-299, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    38. Greg Kaplan & Kurt Mitman & Giovanni L. Violante, 2020. "The Housing Boom and Bust: Model Meets Evidence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(9), pages 3285-3345.
    39. Xiaojin Sun & Kwok Ping Tsang, 2017. "What Drives the Owner‐Occupied and Rental Housing Markets? Evidence from an Estimated DSGE Model," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(2-3), pages 443-468, March.
    40. Andrea Ferrero, 2015. "House Price Booms, Current Account Deficits, and Low Interest Rates," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(S1), pages 261-293, March.
    41. Marjorie Flavin & Shinobu Nakagawa, 2008. "A Model of Housing in the Presence of Adjustment Costs: A Structural Interpretation of Habit Persistence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(1), pages 474-495, March.
    42. Aoki, Kosuke & Proudman, James & Vlieghe, Gertjan, 2004. "House prices, consumption, and monetary policy: a financial accelerator approach," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 414-435, October.
    43. Matteo Iacoviello & Stefano Neri, 2010. "Housing Market Spillovers: Evidence from an Estimated DSGE Model," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 125-164, April.
    44. Restrepo-Echavarria, Paulina, 2014. "Macroeconomic volatility: The role of the informal economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 454-469.
    45. Monacelli, Tommaso, 2009. "New Keynesian models, durable goods, and collateral constraints," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 242-254, March.
    46. Ceyhun Bora Durdu & Serdar Sayan, 2010. "Emerging Market Business Cycles with Remittance Fluctuations," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 57(2), pages 303-325, June.
    47. Neumeyer, Pablo A. & Perri, Fabrizio, 2005. "Business cycles in emerging economies: the role of interest rates," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 345-380, March.
    48. Álvarez-Parra, Fernando & Brandao-Marques, Luis & Toledo, Manuel, 2013. "Durable goods, financial frictions, and business cycles in emerging economies," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 720-736.
    49. Davis, Morris A. & Martin, Robert F., 2009. "Housing, home production, and the equity- and value-premium puzzles," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 81-91, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shin, Wonmun, 2022. "A New angle on excess consumption volatility in emerging countries: Does house price matter?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Piazzesi, M. & Schneider, M., 2016. "Housing and Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1547-1640, Elsevier.
    3. Davis, Morris A. & Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn, 2015. "Housing, Finance, and the Macroeconomy," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 753-811, Elsevier.
    4. Narayan Bulusu & Jefferson Duarte & Carles Vergara-Alert, 2016. "Can the Common-Factor Hypothesis Explain the Observed Housing Wealth Effect?," Staff Working Papers 16-62, Bank of Canada.
    5. Gianluca Benigno & Andrew Foerster & Christopher Otrok & Alessandro Rebucci, 2025. "Estimating macroeconomic models of financial crises: An endogenous regime‐switching approach," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 16(1), pages 1-47, January.
    6. Horvath, Jaroslav & Yang, Guanyi, 2022. "Unemployment dynamics and informality in small open economies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    7. Stijn Claessens & M Ayhan Kose, 2018. "Frontiers of macrofinancial linkages," BIS Papers, Bank for International Settlements, number 95, May.
    8. Boileau, Martin & Normandin, Michel, 2017. "The price of imported capital and consumption fluctuations in emerging economies," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 67-81.
    9. Germaschewski, Yin & Horvath, Jaroslav & Rubini, Loris, 2024. "How important are trend shocks? The role of the debt elasticity of interest rate," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    10. Dan Cao & Jean-Paul L’Huillier & Donghoon Yoo, 2022. "When Is the Trend the Cycle?," ISER Discussion Paper 1177, Institute of Social and Economic Research, The University of Osaka.
    11. Hwang, Seolwoong & Kim, Soyoung, 2022. "Real business cycles in emerging countries: Are Asian business cycles different from Latin American business cycles?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    12. Julia Le Blanc & Jiri Slacalek & Matthew N. White, 2025. "Housing Wealth Across Countries: The Role of Expectations, Institutions and Preferences," CESifo Working Paper Series 11621, CESifo.
    13. Fang Yang & Wenli Li & Haiyong Liu & Rui Yao, 2014. "Housing over Time and over the Life Cycle: A Structural Estimation," Departmental Working Papers 2014-12, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    14. Ian Christensen & Paul Corrigan & Caterina Mendicino & Shin-Ichi Nishiyama, 2016. "Consumption, housing collateral and the Canadian business cycle," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 49(1), pages 207-236, February.
    15. Geoffrey Meen & Alexander Mihailov & Yehui Wang, 2016. "Endogenous UK Housing Cycles and the Risk Premium: Understanding the Next Housing Crisis," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2016-02, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    16. C. Bora Durdu, 2013. "Emerging Market Business Cycles: Recent Advances," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 183-199, June.
    17. Kamalyan, Hayk & Davtyan, Vahagn, 2022. "Exchange Rate Uncertainty and Business Cycle Fluctuations," MPRA Paper 113443, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Okubo, Masakatsu, 2023. "Model uncertainty, economic development, and welfare costs of business cycles," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    19. Notz, Stefan & Rosenkranz, Peter, 2021. "Business cycles in emerging markets: The role of liability dollarization and valuation effects," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 424-450.
    20. Sangyup Choi & Myungkyu Shim, 2018. "Labor Market Dynamics in Developing Economies: the Role of Subsistence Consumption," Working papers 2018rwp-127, Yonsei University, Yonsei Economics Research Institute.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C82 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Macroeconomic Data; Data Access
    • E10 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - General
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • F41 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Open Economy Macroeconomics
    • F44 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - International Business Cycles

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:180:y:2025:i:c:s0014292125002016. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eer .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.