Digging Deeper--Evidence on the Effects of Macroprudential Policies from a New Database

Abstract

This paper introduces a new comprehensive database of macroprudential policies, which combines information from various sources and covers 134 countries from January 1990 to December 2016. Using these data, we first confirm that loan-targeted instruments have a significant impact on household credit, and a milder, dampening effect on consumption. Next, we exploit novel numerical information on loan-to-value (LTV) limits using a propensity-score-based method to address endogeneity concerns. The results point to economically significant and nonlinear effects, with a declining impact for larger tightening measures. Moreover, the initial LTV level appears to matter; when LTV limits are already tight, the effects of additional tightening on credit is dampened while those on consumption are strengthened.

Keywords: Mortgages, Exchange rate policy, Reserve requirements, Household credit, Credit booms, Macroprudential policy, loan-to-value ratios, propensity score, LTV, policy action, reverse causality, endogeneity, appendix IV

JEL Classification: E58, G28, E52, E01, G21, K2, O24