Household Debt and Country Economic Growth: Does a Magic Threshold Exist?
Abstract
Average household debt has now surpassed the level of 2008, which signals an increase in systemic risk and thereby the fragility of the financial system. This paper investigates the effect of household debt on 24 countries’ economic growth. In addition, we also examine whether a tipping point of debt exists. By employing the threshold method, we found that the impact of household debt on a country’s economic growth is negative. Because the relationship between debt and growth is a monotonically non-increasing function, we do not find a magic threshold of debt.
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