Five Facts about MPCs: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Boehm, Johannes; Fize, Etienne; Jaravel, Xavier
• 署名单位: Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR); Paris School of Economics; University of London; London School Economics & Political Science
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20240138
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 1-42
• 关键词: economic stimulus payments; consumption response; monetary-policy; fiscal-policy; income; fungibility; SALIENCE; CHOICE; MODEL; cash

摘要

We present five facts from an experiment on the marginal propensity to consume ( MPC ) out of transitory transfers: ( 1 ) the one-month MPC on a cash-like transfer is 23 percent; ( 2 ) it is substantially higher ( 61 percent) on a transfer administered via a card where remaining funds expire after three weeks, inconsistent with money fungibility; ( 3 ) the consumption response is concentrated in the first three weeks; ( 4 ) MPCs vary with household characteristics but are high even for the liquid wealthy; ( 5 ) unconditional MPC distribution exhibits large variation. Our findings inform the design of stimulus policies and pose challenges to existing macroeconomic models. ( JEL D12, D91, E21, G51, I38)