The paper (“The Impact of the Cost-of-Living Crisis on European Households”) uses EUROMOD and HFCS data to assess the impact of the inflationary shock, and the fiscal and monetary policy response to it, on Eurozone households via consumption, income and wealth.

The study covers the largest four euro area countries as well as Portugal and Greece. It finds that, on average, households in pension age were the main losers of the cost-of-living crisis period, for they were the most affected by the erosion of the real value of nominal wealth. By contrast, high-income working-age households were often compensated for the inflationary shock thanks to the devaluation of their mortgage debt (see chart).