Household Spending Responses to the Economic Impact Payments of 2020: Evidence from the Consumer Expenditure Survey

Jonathan Parker, Jake Schild, Laura Erhard and David Johnson

No 29648, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Using the Consumer Expenditure Survey and variation in amount, receipt, and timing of receipt of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) authorized by the CARES Act, this paper estimates that people spent less of their EIPs in the few months following arrival than in similar previous policy episodes and than estimated by existing studies using other types of data. Accounting for volatility during the pandemic and comparing the consumer spending behavior of broadly similar households, people spent roughly 10 percent (standard error 3.4) of their EIPs on non-durable goods and services in the three months of arrival, with little evidence of additional spending in the subsequent three months or on durable goods. People who report mostly spending their EIPs spent 14.3\% (3.7) of their EIPs compared to 5.9\% (8.3) and -1.6\% (5.0) for those who report mostly paying off debt and saving respectively. People with low liquid wealth and people receiving their EIPs on debit cards spent at higher rates: 21.7\% (6.4) and 36.8\% (24.6) respectively, with economically larger estimates for total spending.

JEL-codes: D14 D15 E21 E62 G5 H31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa and nep-mac
Note: CF EFG ME PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Working Paper: Household Spending Responses to the Economic Impact Payments of 2020: Evidence from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (2021)
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