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Which Households Prefer ARMs vs. Fixed-Rate Mortgages?
Adjustable-rate mortgages appear to be more popular with younger, higher-income households that also have bigger mortgages, according to 2019 data.
Journal Article
Inflation Uncertainty among Eighth District Households
Survey data suggest that uncertainty about future inflation among Eighth District households rose during periods of significant change in monetary policy.
How Does Human Capital Affect Wealth Inequality?
Accounting for human capital can change the distribution of wealth and some common measures of wealth inequality.
Monetary Policy Surprises and Inflation Expectations
The private sector may slightly underestimate the short-term impact of monetary policy surprises on inflation but may predict longer-term effects fairly well.
Journal Article
Treasury Debt and Inflation Tax
We calculate the implicit inflation tax borne by households due to their holdings of U.S. Treasury debt. Nominal assets lose value due to unexpected inflation. We calculate unexpected changes in current and future inflation and document households’ holdings of Treasury debt across the wealth distribution, accounting for direct and indirect holdings through financial intermediaries. Combining these two pieces of information, we calculate the implied inflation tax across household wealth groups over the past four decades.
How Much Can Households Gain and Lose with Unexpected Inflation?
This analysis looks at how the 2021-22 inflation shock affected households based on their exposure to nominal assets and nominal liabilities.
Which U.S. Households Have Credit Card Debt?
Households carrying credit card balances tend to be middle income, but the ratio of credit card debt to income is highest among those who earn the least.
Which Households Are Most Exposed to the Inflation “Tax”?
The federal government benefits from unexpected bouts of inflation since the real value of its debt falls. However, this also hurts its debtholders.
Why Are Illiquid Households Affected More by Inflation?
Surprise inflation can hit illiquid households harder because they can’t easily offset real losses in short-term assets with real gains in long-term liabilities.
Journal Article
Assets and Liabilities of Younger vs. Older Households
The balance sheets of US households have changed over the past seven decades, overall and for different age groups.