摘要：How do changes in monetary policy affect consumption? Using household data for the USand the UK, we show that most of the aggregate response of consumption to interest ratesis driven by households with a mortgage. Outright home owners do not adjust expenditureat all and renters change their spending but by less than mortgagors. Income rises for allhouseholds as interest rate cuts directly affect fi rm investment and household consumption,boosting aggregate demand. A key difference between these housing tenure groups is thecomposition of their balance sheets: mortgagors hold sizable illiquid assets but little liquidwealth, consistent with a higher marginal propensity to consume.
