The U.S. economy underwent an extensive credit market reform in the early 1980s.
Most household debt requires an initial equity share in the home or vehicle that serves as
collateral—a down payment—and a minimum rate of debt amortization—which determines
the rate of equity accumulation. The Monetary Control and the Garn-St. Germain Acts of
1980 and 1982 allowed market innovations that dramatically reduced these equity requirements:
Greater access to alternative borrowing instruments reduced effective down payments,
and cash-out mortgage refinancing allowed households to delay repayment of principle and
spend previously accumulated home equity. In 1982, home equity equalled 71 percent of
GDP, so a surge of household borrowing unsurprisingly followed these reforms