Housing and financial wealth effects on consumption: Evidence from the Spanish Survey of Household Finances

This paper estimates the consumption effects of housing and financial wealth using micro-data from the five available waves of the Spanish Survey of Household Finances (2002-2014), covering a marked boom-and-bust cycle. Our results suggest a significant positive relationship between household wealth and consumer spending. Disaggregating by asset type, the value of the main residence is the asset category with the highest estimated effect on consumption, whereas the remaining (other real assets, current accounts and deposits, and other financial assets), although still positive and generally significant, have much more limited effects on consumption.