Inequality, Leverage, and Crises
研究收入分配变化如何导致家庭高杠杆和危机，发现高收入家庭收入份额上升会内生地推高低收入家庭债务杠杆，最终引发金融和实体危机。
The paper studies how high household leverage and crises can be caused by changes in the income distribution. Empirically, the periods 1920–1929 and 1983–2008 both exhibited a large increase in the income share of high-income households, a large increase in debt leverage of low- and middle-income households, and an eventual financial and real crisis. The paper presents a theoretical model where higher leverage and crises are the endogenous result of a growing income share of high-income households. The model matches the profiles of the income distribution, the debt-to-income ratio and crisis risk for the three decades preceding the Great Recession.