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Consumption, Land Prices and the Monetary Transmission Mechanism in Japan

Muellbauer, John; Murata, Keiko

Economic theory suggests circumstances in which a rise in short term real interest rates can increase consumption, contrary to much conventional wisdom. This paper suggests that these circumstances are more likely to be prevalent in Japan and finds strong empirical evidence for a positive effect. Life-cycle theory also suggests that housing wealth effects on aggregate consumption including imputed rent are small and negative. Positive effects of the kind found in the UK and the US are due to the role of the credit channel. In countries where consumer access to credit is restricted, these restrictions can enhance the negative effect on consumption of higher house prices because saving for a housing deposit needs to be higher. Our evidence of a negative land price effect for Japan supports this hypothesis. We find no evidence of significant household credit market liberalization from a model for household debt in Japan.

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Academic Units
Center on Japanese Economy and Business
Publisher
Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University
Series
Center on Japanese Economy and Business Working Papers, 270
Published Here
February 15, 2011