Two of my papers in Macroeconomic Dynamics reach a striking pair of conclusions: fiscal stimulus works better when households carry little debt, while rate cuts hit harder — but fade faster — when they carry a lot. Use the controls below to switch between the two policies and across countries, and watch how the level of household debt changes the response of output.
View as table
| Quarter | Low debt (% of GDP) | High debt (% of GDP) |
|---|
The underlying research: Does household debt affect the size of the fiscal multiplier? (Macroeconomic Dynamics, 2024) and Does household debt affect the transmission mechanism of monetary policy? (forthcoming, Macroeconomic Dynamics). For what these results mean in practice, see the summaries on the Research page — and if your institution needs this kind of analysis, see Consulting & Policy.