Studies on the influence of changes in asset prices on the economy have typically focused on analyses of consumption mostly through the wealth effect. Recently, however, as global imbalances have emerged as a major public concern, empirical analyses on their influence on the current account have been attempted. The results of a recent ECB study targeting the US show that a rise in asset prices is a major factor causing a deterioration in the current account, as the explanatory power of stock prices and housing prices (32%) is analyzed as far outstripping that of exchange rates (7%).

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