How do mortgage rate resets affect consumer spending and debt repayment? Evidence from Canadian consumers / by Katya Kartashova and Xiaoqing Zhou.: FB3-5/2020-18E-PDF

"We study the causal effect of mortgage rate changes on consumer spending, debt repayment, and defaults during an expansionary and a contractionary monetary policy episode in Canada. Our identification takes advantage of the fact that the interest rates of short-term fixed-rate mortgages (the dominant product in Canada’s mortgage market) have to be reset according to the prevailing market interest rates at predetermined time intervals. Our empirical strategy exploits this exogenous variation in the timing of mortgage rate resets. We find asymmetric responses of consumer durable spending, deleveraging, and defaults. These results can be rationalized by the cash-flow effect in conjunction with changes in consumers’ expectations about future interest rates. Our findings help us to understand the responses of the household sector to changes in the interest rate, especially in countries where variable-rate, adjustable-rate, and short-term fixed-rate mortgages are prevalent"--Abstract, page 2.

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Publication information
Department/Agency Bank of Canada.
Title How do mortgage rate resets affect consumer spending and debt repayment? Evidence from Canadian consumers / by Katya Kartashova and Xiaoqing Zhou.
Series title Staff working paper = Document de travail du personnel, 1701-9397 ; 2020-18
Publication type Series - View Master Record
Language [English]
Format Electronic
Electronic document
Note(s) Cover title.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 32-34).
Includes abstract in French.
Publishing information Ottawa, Ontario, Canada : Bank of Canada = Banque du Canada, 2020.
©2020
Author / Contributor Kartashova, Katya, author.
Description 1 online resource (2, 56 pages) : graphs (mostly colour).
Catalogue number
  • FB3-5/2020-18E-PDF
Subject terms Mortgages -- Rates -- Canada.
Consumption (Economics) -- Canada.
Debt -- Canada.
Hypothèques -- Tarifs -- Canada.
Consommation (Économie politique) -- Canada.
Dettes -- Canada.
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