IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jfamec/v44y2023i3d10.1007_s10834-022-09862-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender Differences in Consumer Debt Stress: Impacts on Job Performance, Family Life and Health

Author

Listed:
  • Lucia F. Dunn

    (Ohio State University)

  • Ida A. Mirzaie

    (Ohio State University)

Abstract

During periods of economic instability, women may suffer uniquely from economic stress compared to men. We examine stress effects from financial debts by gender with monthly national-level household data starting in 2006, going through the Great Recession in the U.S and into the recovery period. We find that women on average in the sample exhibit approximately 30% overall greater debt stress scores than men after controlling for income, debt levels and other socioeconomic variables. Underlying factors for both genders are examined, including impacts on job performance, family life and health. Sources of disadvantage for women and implied policy needs are explored. Our findings and their consequences are examined relative to economic circumstances for women that have been documented as a result of the pandemic-induced recession.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucia F. Dunn & Ida A. Mirzaie, 2023. "Gender Differences in Consumer Debt Stress: Impacts on Job Performance, Family Life and Health," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 550-567, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:44:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s10834-022-09862-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-022-09862-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10834-022-09862-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10834-022-09862-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Burda, Michael & Genadek, Katie R., 2015. "Not Working At Work: Loafing, Unemployment and Labor Productivity," CEPR Discussion Papers 10712, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Edward P. Lazear & Kathryn L. Shaw & Christopher Stanton, 2016. "Making Do with Less: Working Harder during Recessions," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(S1), pages 333-360.
    3. Brown, Sarah & Taylor, Karl & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 2005. "Debt and distress: Evaluating the psychological cost of credit," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 642-663, October.
    4. Michael F. Bryan & Guhan Venkatu, 2001. "The curiously different inflation perspectives of men and women," Economic Commentary, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue Nov.
    5. Bridges, Sarah & Disney, Richard, 2010. "Debt and depression," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 388-403, May.
    6. Lucia F. Dunn & Ida A. Mirzaie, 2016. "Consumer Debt Stress, Changes In Household Debt, And The Great Recession," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(1), pages 201-214, January.
    7. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2008. "Planning and Financial Literacy: How Do Women Fare?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 413-417, May.
    8. Janet Currie & Erdal Tekin, 2015. "Is There a Link between Foreclosure and Health?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 63-94, February.
    9. Paige Marta Skiba & Jeremy Tobacman, 2019. "Do Payday Loans Cause Bankruptcy?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(3), pages 485-519.
    10. Sarah S. Jiang & Lucia F. Dunn, 2013. "New Evidence On Credit Card Borrowing And Repayment Patterns," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 394-407, January.
    11. Erin E. George & Mary Eschelbach Hansen & Julie Lyn Routzahn, 2018. "Debt Tolerance, Gender, and the Great Recession," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 711-732, November.
    12. Lawrence Berger & J. Michael Collins & Laura Cuesta, 2016. "Household Debt and Adult Depressive Symptoms in the United States," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 42-57, March.
    13. Deborah Thorne, 2010. "Extreme Financial Strain: Emergent Chores, Gender Inequality and Emotional Distress," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 185-197, June.
    14. Drentea, Patricia & Lavrakas, Paul J., 2000. "Over the limit: the association among health, race and debt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 517-529, February.
    15. Lea, Stephen E. G. & Webley, Paul & Walker, Catherine M., 1995. "Psychological factors in consumer debt: Money management, economic socialization, and credit use," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 681-701, December.
    16. Hibbert, Ann Marie & Lawrence, Edward R. & Prakash, Arun J., 2013. "Does knowledge of finance mitigate the gender difference in financial risk-aversion?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 140-152.
    17. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    18. Angela C. Lyons & Tansel Yilmazer, 2005. "Health and Financial Strain: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 71(4), pages 873-890, April.
    19. Geng Li, 2018. "Gender-Related Differences in Credit Use and Credit Scores," FEDS Notes 2018-06-22, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    20. Tabea Bucher-Koenen & Annamaria Lusardi & Rob Alessie & Maarten van Rooij, 2017. "How Financially Literate Are Women? An Overview and New Insights," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 255-283, July.
    21. Lea, Stephen E. G. & Webley, Paul & Levine, R. Mark, 1993. "The economic psychology of consumer debt," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 85-119, March.
    22. Eckel, Catherine C. & Grossman, Philip J., 2008. "Men, Women and Risk Aversion: Experimental Evidence," Handbook of Experimental Economics Results, in: Charles R. Plott & Vernon L. Smith (ed.), Handbook of Experimental Economics Results, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 113, pages 1061-1073, Elsevier.
    23. Angela C. Lyons & Tansel Yilmazer, 2005. "Health and Financial Strain: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 71(4), pages 873-890, April.
    24. Raquel Fonseca & Kathleen J. Mullen & Gema Zamarro & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2012. "What Explains the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy? The Role of Household Decision Making," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 90-106, March.
    25. Jinhee Kim & Benoit Sorhaindo & E. Garman, 2006. "Relationship between Financial Stress and Workplace Absenteeism of Credit Counseling Clients," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 458-478, September.
    26. Clayton, Maya & Liñares-Zegarra, José & Wilson, John O.S., 2015. "Does debt affect health? Cross country evidence on the debt-health nexus," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 51-58.
    27. Thomas Leopold, 2018. "Gender Differences in the Consequences of Divorce: A Study of Multiple Outcomes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 769-797, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Meyll, Tobias & Pauls, Thomas, 2019. "The gender gap in over-indebtedness," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    2. Blázquez, Maite & Budría, Santiago & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2020. "Over-indebtedness and age: The effects on individual health," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Grohmann, Antonia & Hübler, Olaf & Kouwenberg, Roy & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2021. "Financial literacy: Thai middle-class women do not lag behind," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    4. Cesar Leandro, Julio & Botelho, Delane, 2022. "Consumer over-indebtedness: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 535-551.
    5. Maite Blázquez & Santiago Budría & Ana I. Moro‐Egido, 2021. "Job Insecurity, Debt Burdens, and Individual Health," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(4), pages 872-899, December.
    6. Boggio, Cecilia & Coda Moscarola, Flavia & Gallice, Andrea, 2020. "What is good for the goose is good for the gander?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    7. Keese, Matthias, 2012. "Who feels constrained by high debt burdens? Subjective vs. objective measures of household debt," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 125-141.
    8. Jinhee Kim & Swarn Chatterjee, 2019. "Student Loans, Health, and Life Satisfaction of US Households: Evidence from a Panel Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 36-50, March.
    9. Jamie Wagner & William B. Walstad, 2023. "Gender Differences in Financial Decision-Making and Behaviors in Single and Joint Households," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 68(1), pages 5-23, March.
    10. Cristina OTTAVIANI & Daniela VANDONE, 2016. "Is Impulsivity a Mediator of the Relationship between Financial Literacy and Debt Decisions?," Departmental Working Papers 2016-06, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    11. Tabea Bucher-Koenen & Rob Alessie & Annamaria Lusardi & Maarten van Rooij, 2021. "Fearless Woman. Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation," Working Papers 708, DNB.
    12. Nathan Blascak & Anna Tranfaglia, 2021. "Decomposing Gender Differences in Bankcard Credit Limits," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-072, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    13. Chen, Jia & Jiang, Jiajun & Liu, Yu-jane, 2018. "Financial literacy and gender difference in loan performance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 307-320.
    14. Yilmazer, Tansel & Babiarz, Patryk & Liu, Fen, 2015. "The impact of diminished housing wealth on health in the United States: Evidence from the Great Recession," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 234-241.
    15. Nolan, Anne & Whelan, Adele & McGuinness, Seamus & Maître, Bertrand, 2019. "Gender, pensions and income in retirement," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS87, June.
    16. Clinton Gudmunson & Sharon Danes, 2011. "Family Financial Socialization: Theory and Critical Review," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 644-667, December.
    17. Cueva, Carlos & Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Iñigo & Ponti, Giovanni & Tomás, Josefa, 2019. "Boys will still be boys: Gender differences in trading activity are not due to differences in (over)confidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 100-120.
    18. Yunchao Cai & Selamah Abdullah Yusof & Ruzita Bt Mohd Amin & Mohd Nahar Mohd Arshad, 2021. "The Multi-dimensional Effect of Household Debt on Urban Individual Well-Being in Klang Valley Malaysia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 23-44, November.
    19. Angela M. O’Rand & Jenifer Hamil-Luker, 2020. "Landfall After the Perfect Storm: Cohort Differences in the Relationship Between Debt and Risk of Heart Attack," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(6), pages 2199-2220, December.
    20. Maite Blázquez & Ana I. Moro Egido, 2020. "Financial insecurity and subjective well-being. Europe in crossnational perspective," ThE Papers 20/07, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:44:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s10834-022-09862-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.