Consumer Credit in Italy and Financial Fragility

The paper focuses on the consumer credit market in Italy and on the related risk of over-indebtedness. Using survey data, it investigates the impact of over-indebtedness on consumption behaviour, evaluating in particular if consumer credit is used to cover gaps in income and if this is associated with an increased and diffused inadequacy of financial and economic position of indebted households. Results highlight that a relatively consistent part of consumer credit is concentrated in the hands of financially fragile individuals. Moreover, when considering the amount of debt measured in relative terms, a difficult financial position adds 2,7 percentage points to the risk of over-indebtedness compared to households without any financial difficulty.