We analyze the effect of household indebtedness on different health outcomes using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel from 1999–2009. To establish a causal effect, we rely on (a) fixed-effects methods, (b) a subsample of constantly employed individuals, and (c) lagged debt variables to...

By compiling a novel data set from bankruptcy court dockets recorded in Delaware between 2001 and 2002, the authors build and estimate a structural model of Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This allows them to quantify how key debtor characteristics, including whether they are experiencing bankruptcy for...

I explain the credit card debt puzzle – the co-holding of high-cost debt and low-yield liquid assets – with a household and individual determinant that lower debt repayments. At the household level, co-holding is consistent with intra-household frictions. Couples co-hold 40 percent more than...

Credit card debt has become intrinsic to the way of life and are accepted as part of modern day living. This paper examines to what extent personal budgeting can influence the effective use of Australian credit card debt. The findings suggest that the most effective credit card debtors are those...

Bankruptcy reform in 2005 eliminated debtors' ability to discharge private student loan debt in bankruptcy. This law aimed to reduce costly defaults by diminishing the perceived incentive of some private student loan borrowers to declare bankruptcy even if they had sufficient income to service...

In this paper we have analyzed borrower over-indebtedness in microfinance, using multiple financial ratio based measures representing different facets of borrower-over-indebtedness namely, liquidity, debt absorption capacity and solvency of the borrowing household. Our data shows that the...

People suffer financial distress when they face financial and non-financial difficulties from repaying their outstanding debts. This paper analyses the prevalence of financial distress, how this distress is related to consumer credit use, and whether financial distress can be predicted. We aim...

Borrowers' housing equity is an important component of their wealth and a critical determinant of their vulnerability to shocks. In this paper, we create a unique data set that enables us to provide a comprehensive look at the ratio of housing debt to housing values—what we refer to as...

We examine the cash-flow channel of monetary policy, i.e. the effect of monetary policy on spending when households hold debt linked to short-term rates such as adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). Using registry-based data on Swedish households, we estimate substantial heterogeneity in consumption...

We use a linked housing transaction dataset and a personal bankruptcy dataset to study the impact of housing credit on personal bankruptcy in Singapore. Using a difference-in-differences (DD) approach, we find that an increase in housing credit increases the monthly instalment by 560-900...