Debt-induced crises, including the subprime, are usually attributed exclusively to supply-side factors. We uncover an additional factor contributing to debt culture, namely social influences emanating from the perceived average income of peers. Using unique information from a representative...

This article reviews the literature on international comparative household finance. It presents summary statistics on household balance sheets for 13 developed countries and uses these statistics to discuss common features and contrasts across countries. It then discusses retirement savings,...

This paper reviews the literature on international comparative household finance. The paper presents summary statistics on household balance sheets for 13 developed countries, and uses these statistics to discuss common features and contrasts across countries. The paper then discusses retirement...