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Leverage

Author

Listed:
  • Tano Santos
  • Pietro Veronesi

Abstract

Many stylized facts of leverage, trading, and asset prices obtain in a frictionless general equilibrium model that features agents’ heterogeneity in endowments and time- varying risk preferences. Our model predicts that aggregate debt increases in expansions when asset prices are high, volatility is low, and levered households enjoy a “consumption boom.” Our model is consistent with poorer households borrowing more and with intermediaries’ leverage being a priced factor. In crises, levered households strongly delever by “fire selling” their risky assets as asset prices drop. Yet, as empirically observed, their debt-to-wealth ratios increase as higher discount rates make their wealth decline faster.

Suggested Citation

  • Tano Santos & Pietro Veronesi, 2016. "Leverage," NBER Working Papers 22905, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22905
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates

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