Lines of Credit and Consumption Smoothing: The Choice between Credit Cards and Home Equity Lines of Credit Staff Working Paper 2005-18 Shubhasis Dey The author models the choice between credit cards and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) within a framework where consumers hold lines of credit as instruments of consumption smoothing across state and time. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates JEL Code(s): D, D1, D8, D81
The Usefulness of Consumer Confidence Indexes in the United States Staff Working Paper 2002-22 Brigitte Desroches, Marc-André Gosselin This paper assesses the usefulness of consumer confidence indexes in forecasting aggregate consumer spending in the United States. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Domestic demand and components, Economic models, International topics JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, E, E2, E21, E27
Consumer Attitudes, Uncertainty, and Consumer Spending Staff Working Paper 1998-16 Denise Côté, Marianne Johnson This study examines the link between consumer expenditures and the Conference Board's Index of Consumer Attitudes, an index highly regarded for some time as a useful leading indicator of consumer expenditures. However, the theory that identifies why it may be useful in an analysis of consumption is less well established. To explore this question, we […] Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Domestic demand and components, Economic models JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, E, E2