During the recent economic recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was found that the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) out of income after job loss came to **** cents per one U.S. dollar in the United States between January and October 2020. MPC is the aggregate proportion of income that a consumer would spend on the consumption of goods rather than saving it.

Panel data on reported marginal propensity to consume (MPC) in the 2010 and 2016 Italy’s Survey of Household Income and Wealth uncover a strong negative relationship between cash-on-hand and MPC. Even though the relationship is attenuated when using regression methods that control for unobserved heterogeneity, the amount of bias is moderate. MPC estimates are used to evaluate the effectiveness of revenue-neutral fiscal policies targeting different parts of the distribution of household resources

This paper shows that the unequal incidence of recessions in the labor market amplifies aggregate shocks. Using administrative data from the United States, I document a positive covariance between worker marginal propensities to consume (MPCs) and their elasticities of earnings to GDP, which is a key moment for a new class of heterogeneous-agent models. I define the Matching Multiplier as the increase in the multiplier stemming from this matching of high MPC workers to more cyclical jobs. I show that this covariance is large enough to increase the aggregate MPC by 20 percent over an equal exposure benchmark.

Graph and download economic data for Real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCEC96) from Jan 2007 to Jun 2025 about headline figure, PCE, consumption expenditures, consumption, personal, real, and USA.

We use responses to survey questions in the 2010 Italian Survey of Household Income and Wealth that ask consumers how much of an unexpected transitory income change they would consume. The marginal propensity to consume (MPC) is 48 percent on average. We also find substantial heterogeneity in the distribution, as households with low cash-on-hand exhibit a much higher MPC than affluent households, which is in agreement with models with precautionary savings, where income risk plays an important role. The results have important implications for predicting household responses to tax reforms and redistributive policies.

Abstract This paper analyzes the sustainability of student debt in a theoretical model in which economic activity is determined by aggregate effective demand. While most of the literature on this topic only considers the wage differentials among workers with distinct educational levels, we propose a formal methodology that considers the impact of this indebtedness on certain macroeconomic variables that affect the possibility of serving the outstanding debt, such as the rate of employment. We compare two forms of debt repayment, the first being similar to the “ Income-Driven Repayment Plans”, which have become common in the U.S. as of late, while, in the second, households’ marginal propensity to consume adapts, to some extent, to the debt service. Our results indicate that factors such as the distribution of income and marginal propensities to consume of different functional classes affect the macroeconomic conditions related to the sustainability of student debt.

In December 2024, the personal saving rate in the United States amounted to 3.8 percent. That was slightly lower figure than a year earlier. The personal saving rate is calculated as the ratio of personal savings to disposable personal income. Within the topic of personal savings in the U.S., there are different goals and reasons for saving. What are personal savings? Saving refers to strategies of accumulating capital for future use by either not spending a part of one’s income or cutting down on certain costs. Saved money may be preserved as cash, put on a deposit account, or invested in various financial instruments. Investing usually incorporates some level of risk which means that part of the invested money can be gone. An example of a relatively safe investment would be saving bonds, such as the debt securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Saving trends in the U.S. and abroad Looking at the personal saving rate in the United States throughout the past decades, it can be observed that savings had been decreasing until the mid-2000s, and they increased after the 2008 financial crisis. Still, the largest savings rates were reached in 2020 and 2021. The reason for that increase in the savings rate that year might be related to the measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The value of personal savings in the United Kingdom has also followed a similar trend. Although events like the COVID-19 pandemic may have affect many countries in a similar way, the ability to save, as well as the average savings as a share of personal income across countries can vary significantly depending on multiple factors affecting each territory.

Graph and download economic data for Personal Saving Rate (PSAVERT) from Jan 1959 to Jun 2025 about savings, personal, rate, and USA.

Using survey evidence, I estimate the impact of $21 billion in household payments delivered in Australia between December 2008 and May 2009. Forty percent of households who said that they received a payment reported having spent it. This is a higher spending rate than has been recorded in surveys assessing the 2001 and 2008 tax rebates in the United States. One possible explanation for this is that individuals are more likely to spend "bonuses" (as the Australian payments were described) than "rebates" (as the US payments were described). Using an approach for converting spending rates into an aggregate marginal propensity to consume (MPC), the Australian results are consistent with an aggregate MPC of 0.41-0.42. Since this estimate is based largely on first-quarter spending, it may understate the longer-run impact of the package on consumer expenditure.

Graph and download economic data for Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income (A072RC1Q156SBEA) from Q1 1947 to Q2 2025 about disposable, savings, personal income, percent, personal, income, GDP, and USA.