The balance sheet adjustment in the household sector was a prominent feature of the Great Recession that is widely believed to have held back the cyclical recovery of the US economy. A key question for the US outlook is therefore whether household deleveraging has ended or whether further...

Using a novel dataset for the US states, this paper examines whether household debt and the protracted debt deleveraging help explain the dismal performance of US consumption since 2007 in the aftermath of the housing bubble. By separating the concepts of deleveraging and debt overhang -- a flow...

Objective: The objective of the article is to assess financial situation and debt repayments in households of self-employed individuals and compare them to these of other types of households. The article aims to identify the determinants of over-indebtedness. Research Design & Methods: The study...

The introduction of microfinance institutions is viewed as the best alternative source of financial services for low-income earners as a means to raise their income and reduce poverty. However, empirical research has indicated that the majority of microfinance institutions’ borrowers are...

This study investigates the welfare implications of allowing workers the option to dedicate their employer-sponsored retirement benefits to the repayment of their student debt. Using a partial equilibrium model, I find that this policy allows for increased consumption while young, while reducing...

Using individual level credit information, I estimate the impact of access to ride-sharing on student debt repayment and take-up. I find that following the introduction of ride-sharing services in a city, individuals decrease their student debt balance and probability of default. These results...

This report highlights how the payment formulas currently underlying Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) can harm low to middle-income borrowers, forcing them to choose between meeting basic needs and paying their monthly student loan bills. Using a series of hypothetical borrower scenarios, the...