Tax & Macroeconomics Credit & Debt
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Topic Credit & Debt

Credit and debt play a critical role in U.S. economic fluctuations, and changes in inequality drive changes in both the demand and supply of credit in the economy. Equitable Growth examines the role of credit and debt in the economy and seeks to understand these intersections and understand how best to ensure that the financial sector serves the public interest.

Featured work

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Risks escalate for U.S. retirement plans due to unregulated private credit funds and new rules opening them up to retirement savings accounts

By Lenore Palladino,

October 29, 2025

October 29, 2025

Lenore Palladino,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
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Americans informed about the distributional effects of Republicans’ tax and budget bill overwhelmingly oppose it

By Jacob Hacker, Patrick Sullivan,

July 3, 2025

July 3, 2025

Jacob Hacker, Patrick Sullivan,
Inequality & MobilityFamiliesTax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 5
Economic Inequality, Economic Wellbeing, Fiscal Policy, Health, Taxes, Inequality & Growth
TOPICS: Economic Inequality, Economic Wellbeing, Fiscal Policy, Health, Taxes, Inequality & Growth
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Testimony by Michael Linden on “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While The Mega Rich Profit”

By Michael Linden,

June 17, 2025

June 17, 2025

Michael Linden,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 5
Business Taxation, Credit & Debt, Fiscal Policy, Individual Taxation, Taxes, Inequality & Growth
TOPICS: Business Taxation, Credit & Debt, Fiscal Policy, Individual Taxation, Taxes, Inequality & Growth
working paper

A Goldilocks Theory of Fiscal Deficits

By Atif Mian, Ludwig Straub, Amir Sufi,

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2022

Atif Mian, Ludwig Straub, Amir Sufi,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 3
Credit & Debt, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy
TOPICS: Credit & Debt, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy
Vision 2020

Promote economic and racial justice: Eliminate student loan debt and establish a right to higher education across the United States

By Darrick Hamilton, Naomi Zewde,

February 18, 2020

February 18, 2020

Darrick Hamilton, Naomi Zewde,
Inequality & MobilityFamiliesLabor
TOPICS: 10
Economic Inequality, Economic Mobility, Economic Wellbeing, Economics of Place, Gender, Job Mobility, Post-secondary Education, Poverty, Race & Ethnicity, Wage Stagnation
TOPICS: Economic Inequality, Economic Mobility, Economic Wellbeing, Economics of Place, Gender, Job Mobility, Post-secondary Education, Poverty, Race & Ethnicity, Wage Stagnation
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Issue Brief: Household insecurity matters for U.S. macroeconomic stability

By Nisha Chikhale,

May 16, 2018

May 16, 2018

Nisha Chikhale,
Tax & MacroeconomicsInequality & MobilityFamilies
TOPICS: 3
Credit & Debt, Economic Inequality, Economic Wellbeing
TOPICS: Credit & Debt, Economic Inequality, Economic Wellbeing

Explore Content in Credit & Debt162

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Issue brief: Alleviating financial distress and its economic consequences in the United States

By Equitable Growth,

August 15, 2017

August 15, 2017

Equitable Growth,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
working paper

Targeted debt relief and the origins of financial distress: Experimental evidence from distressed credit card borrowers

By Will Dobbie, Jae Song,

August 15, 2017

August 15, 2017

Will Dobbie, Jae Song,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
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Debt ≠ deficits: Why higher state and local government debt isn’t necessarily a result of higher spending

July 21, 2017

July 21, 2017

Tax & MacroeconomicsInequality & Mobility
TOPICS: 2
Credit & Debt, GDP 2.0
TOPICS: Credit & Debt, GDP 2.0
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Are economic boom-and-bust cycles stronger when capital is more available?

By Nick Bunker,

July 12, 2017

July 12, 2017

Nick Bunker,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
working paper

How do credit supply shocks affect the real economy? Evidence from the United States in the 1980s

By Atif Mian, Amir Sufi, Emil Verner,

July 11, 2017

July 11, 2017

Atif Mian, Amir Sufi, Emil Verner,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
working paper

The evolution of state-local balance sheets in the US, 1953-2013

By J.W. Mason, Arjun Jayadev, Amanda Page-Hoongrajok,

July 11, 2017

July 11, 2017

J.W. Mason, Arjun Jayadev, Amanda Page-Hoongrajok,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
Past Event

Seminar Series: Debt Sustainability in a Low Interest Rate World (Invitation only)

July 12, 2017 12:15PM - 1:30PM

Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
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Home is where the government subsidy is

By Nick Bunker,

May 16, 2017

May 16, 2017

Nick Bunker,
Tax & MacroeconomicsFamilies
TOPICS: 4
Credit & Debt, Economic Wellbeing, Individual Taxation, Taxes, Inequality & Growth
TOPICS: Credit & Debt, Economic Wellbeing, Individual Taxation, Taxes, Inequality & Growth
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How the opening to China may have partially fueled the U.S. housing bubble

By Nick Bunker,

May 11, 2017

May 11, 2017

Nick Bunker,
Tax & MacroeconomicsFamilies
TOPICS: 2
Credit & Debt, Economic Wellbeing
TOPICS: Credit & Debt, Economic Wellbeing
working paper

Bad credit, no problem? Credit and labor market consequences of bad credit reports

By Will Dobbie, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Neale Mahoney, Jae Song,

May 9, 2017

May 9, 2017

Will Dobbie, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Neale Mahoney, Jae Song,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
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Should policymakers worry about the level of debt or the pace of credit growth?

By Nick Bunker,

May 1, 2017

May 1, 2017

Nick Bunker,
Tax & Macroeconomics
TOPICS: 1
Credit & Debt
TOPICS: Credit & Debt
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The student loan crisis is fueled by a weak labor market

By Kavya Vaghul,

April 26, 2017

April 26, 2017

Kavya Vaghul,
Tax & MacroeconomicsInequality & MobilityFamiliesLabor
TOPICS: 4
Credit & Debt, Economic Mobility, Income & Earnings Volatility, Post-secondary Education
TOPICS: Credit & Debt, Economic Mobility, Income & Earnings Volatility, Post-secondary Education
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