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Do we know what we owe? Consumer debt as reported by borrowers and lenders

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Abstract

Household surveys are the source of some of the most widely studied data on consumer balance sheets, with the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) generally cited as the leading source of wealth data for the United States. At the same time, recent research questions survey respondents? propensity and ability to report debt characteristics accurately. This study compares household debt as reported by borrowers to the SCF with household debt as reported by lenders to Equifax using the new FRBNY Consumer Credit Panel (CCP). The borrower and lender debt distributions are compared by year, age of household head, household size, and region of the country, in total and across five standard debt categories. The authors? central finding is that the SCF and CCP debt patterns are strikingly similar. There are, however, two noteworthy exceptions: the aggregate credit card debt implied by SCF borrowers? reports is estimated to be 37 to 40 percent lower than that implied by CCP lenders? reports, and the aggregate student debt implied by the SCF is roughly 25 percent lower than that implied by the CCP. In contrast to the credit card debt mismatch, bankruptcy history is reported comparably in the borrower and lender sources, indicating that not all stigmatized consumer behaviors are underreported.

Suggested Citation

  • Meta Brown & Andrew F. Haughwout & Donghoon Lee & Wilbert Van der Klaauw, 2015. "Do we know what we owe? Consumer debt as reported by borrowers and lenders," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue 21-1, pages 19-44.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fednep:00020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Claire Greene & Scott Schuh & Joanna Stavins, 2017. "The 2015 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice: summary results," Research Data Report 17-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    2. Joanna Stavins, 2020. "Credit Card Debt and Consumer Payment Choice: What Can We Learn from Credit Bureau Data?," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 58(1), pages 59-90, August.
    3. Christopher L Foote & Lara Loewenstein & Paul S Willen, 2021. "Cross-Sectional Patterns of Mortgage Debt during the Housing Boom: Evidence and Implications," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(1), pages 229-259.
    4. Swanton, Thomas B. & Gainsbury, Sally M., 2020. "Debt stress partly explains the relationship between problem gambling and comorbid mental health problems," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    5. Bleemer, Zachary & Brown, Meta & Lee, Donghoon & Strair, Katherine & van der Klaauw, Wilbert, 2021. "Echoes of rising tuition in students’ borrowing, educational attainment, and homeownership in post-recession America," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    6. Carlos Madeira, 2025. "How accurately do consumers report their debts in household surveys?," BIS Working Papers 1258, Bank for International Settlements.
    7. Christiana Stoddard & Carly Urban, 2020. "The Effects of State‐Mandated Financial Education on College Financing Behaviors," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(4), pages 747-776, June.
    8. Madeira, Carlos & Margaretic, Paula, 2022. "The impact of financial literacy on the quality of self-reported financial information," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    measurement; Microeconomics; Banking and Finance; consumer debts;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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