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Consumer debt and the economic recovery

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  • John Krainer

Abstract

A key ingredient of an economic recovery is a pickup in household spending supported by increased consumer debt. As the current economic recovery has struggled to take hold, household debt levels have grown little. Some evidence indicates that households adjusted debt in line with house price movements in their local markets. However, the data show that consumer debt cutbacks were largest among households that defaulted on mortgages or had lower credit scores, suggesting that household borrowing also was restricted by tight aggregate credit supply.

Suggested Citation

  • John Krainer, 2012. "Consumer debt and the economic recovery," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue aug20.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfel:y:2012:i:aug20:n:2012-25
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hurst, Erik & Stafford, Frank, 2004. "Home Is Where the Equity Is: Mortgage Refinancing and Household Consumption," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(6), pages 985-1014, December.
    2. Donghoon Lee & Wilbert Van der Klaauw, 2010. "An introduction to the FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel," Staff Reports 479, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sewin Chan & Andrew Haughwout & Andrew Hayashi & Wilbert Van Der Klaauw, 2016. "Determinants of Mortgage Default and Consumer Credit Use: The Effects of Foreclosure Laws and Foreclosure Delays," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(2-3), pages 393-413, March.

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