Heterogeneity and macroeconomic state dependence in the spending response to stimulus
研究了2020-2021年不同宏观经济条件下，美国家庭的刺激支出如何随收入变化，发现2020年流动性约束使低收入家庭急于消费，而2021年高收入家庭支出更多，支出分布呈U型。
We explore how households’ stimulus spending varies by income under different macroeconomic conditions over 2020–2021. We document a shift in the spending distribution from a declining pattern with a high average spending response to a U-shaped one with weaker responses and spending rising with income over much of the distribution. We argue that during crisis times like 2020, binding liquidity constraints render poorer households anxious to consume, while in more normalized economies (2021), they prioritize saving or servicing debts. • US households responded very differently to fiscal stimulus in 2021 vs. 2020. • In 2021, higher income households tended to spend more out of government stimulus. • In 2021, there was a U-shape with respect to income in the spending distribution. • In 2020, the stimulus spending distribution was consistent with standard theory. • A simple model of expenditure necessities explains the 2020/2021 differential.