Working Paper
Household response to the 2008 tax rebates: survey evidence and aggregate implications
Slemrod, Joel B.; Sahm, Claudia R.; Shapiro, Matthew D. (2009)
Only about one-fifth of respondents in the Reuters/University of Michigan survey report that the 2008 tax rebates led them to mostly increase spending, while over half said it would lead them to mostly pay off debt. Of those in the mostly-spend category, the response was swift, with over 80 percent reporting increasing their spending within three months of receiving their rebate. Older households, households with higher wealth and higher income, and those expecting future income growth were generally more likely to spend the rebates. A review of other surveys confirms the general pattern of ...
Finance and Economics Discussion Series , Paper 2009-45

Working Paper
Check in the mail or more in the paycheck: does the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus depend on how it is delivered?
Slemrod, Joel B.; Sahm, Claudia R.; Shapiro, Matthew D. (2010)
Recent fiscal policies have aimed to stimulate household spending. In 2008, most households received one-time economic stimulus payments. In 2009, most working households received the Making Work Pay tax credit in the form of reduced withholding; other households, mainly retirees, received one-time payments. This paper quantifies the spending response to these different policies and examines whether the spending response differed according to whether the stimulus was delivered as a one-time payment or as a flow of payments in the form of reduced withholding. Based on responses from a ...
Finance and Economics Discussion Series , Paper 2010-40

Working Paper
Balance-Sheet Households and Fiscal Stimulus: Lessons from the Payroll Tax Cut and Its Expiration
Slemrod, Joel B.; Sahm, Claudia R.; Shapiro, Matthew D. (2015-05-20)
Balance-sheet repair drove the response of a significant fraction of households to fiscal stimulus following the Great Recession. By combining survey, behavioral, and time-series evidence on the 2011 payroll tax cut and its expiration in 2013, this papers identifies and analyzes households who smooth debt repayment. These "balance-sheet households" are as prevalent as "permanent-income households," who smooth consumption in response to the temporary tax cut, and outnumber "constrained households," who temporarily boost spending. The asymmetric spending response of balance-sheet ...
Finance and Economics Discussion Series , Paper 2015-37

Conference Paper
The effect of tax simplification on individuals
Slemrod, Joel B. (1985)
Conference Series ; [Proceedings] , Volume 29 , Pages 64-102