What drives heterogeneity in the marginal propensity to consume? Temporary shocks vs persistent characteristics

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gelman, Michael
• 署名单位: Claremont Colleges; Claremont Graduate University; Claremont McKenna College
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3932
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2020.03.006
• 发表日期: 2021
• 关键词: Marginal propensity to consume; consumption; MPC Heterogeneity

摘要

Many empirical studies show that cash on hand is the most important source of variation in explaining heterogeneity in the marginal propensity to consume (MPC). To explain this, one class of models focuses on the role of heterogeneity in persistent characteristics across individuals while the other class focuses on the role of circumstances within individuals. This paper provides the first empirical measure of the relative importance of circumstances and characteristics in explaining the variance of the MPC. It then maps this empirical measure into a buffer stock model with discount factor heterogeneity to assess how well it explains the data. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.