Is There a Debt Service Channel of Monetary Transmission?

Abstract

Previous research has explored the impact of private sector debt service ratios (DSRs), ie debt payments relative to income, on medium-term macroeconomic outcomes. This special feature, based on a study of 18 economies, finds that monetary policy shocks, in turn, have a significant impact on DSRs. We show that a monetary tightening leads to a significant and persistent increase in DSRs, with higher effective lending rates on the stock of debt outweighing a decline in the debt-to-income ratio. Moreover, the impact of monetary policy shocks on DSRs, as well as on economic activity, the price level, house prices and credit, turns out to be significantly larger in high-debt economies. These findings point to the existence of a debt service channel of monetary transmission.

JEL Classification: E52