IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jfamec/v46y2025i1d10.1007_s10834-024-10013-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Life in Perpetual Overdraft: Are Poor Households Doomed to Always be in Debt?

Author

Listed:
  • Oshra Costa-Agmon

    (Ariel University)

  • Hanna Gendel-Guterman

    (Ariel University)

Abstract

In the last decade, the phenomena of using excessive credit has developed fast. Long-lasting household debt can jeopardize the personal well-being of every member of the household. Most existing research focuses on economic situations to explain the reason that households frequently use overdraft services. The aim of this study is to broaden the scope of the research of the overdraft phenomenon by building a theoretical model which integrates economic factors together with personal psychological traits and external social influence. Qualitative research was used that included in-depth interviews of 29 urban salaried employees. Results showed that economic factors were a significant contributor in explaining overdraft use. Yet social influencing factors, especially the past financial behaviour of the parents and the children’s social demands, were found to have a large effect on the tendency to use overdraft services regularly. Personality traits, mainly locus of control and self-control, added enlightenment to understanding this phenomenon. Through identification of these factors, appropriate preventive steps can be taken by institutions and individuals to reduce the use of surplus credit in ways that lead to harm to the household.

Suggested Citation

  • Oshra Costa-Agmon & Hanna Gendel-Guterman, 2025. "Life in Perpetual Overdraft: Are Poor Households Doomed to Always be in Debt?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 319-329, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:46:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10834-024-10013-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-024-10013-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10834-024-10013-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10834-024-10013-9?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. Pengpeng Yue & Aslihan Gizem Korkmaz & Zhichao Yin & Haigang Zhou, 2022. "The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap," Papers 2201.09221, arXiv.org.
    2. Webley, Paul & Nyhus, Ellen K., 2013. "Economic socialization, saving and assets in European young adults," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 19-30.
    3. Melissa A. Curran & Emily Parrott & Sun Young Ahn & Joyce Serido & Soyeon Shim, 2018. "Young Adults’ Life Outcomes and Well-Being: Perceived Financial Socialization from Parents, the Romantic Partner, and Young Adults’ Own Financial Behaviors," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 445-456, September.
    4. John Gathergood, 2012. "Debt and Depression: Causal Links and Social Norm Effects," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(563), pages 1094-1114, September.
    5. Cynamon Barry Z. & Fazzari Steven M., 2008. "Household Debt in the Consumer Age: Source of Growth--Risk of Collapse," Capitalism and Society, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 1-32, October.
    6. Sandra Dema-Moreno, 2009. "Behind the negotiations: Financial decision-making processes in Spanish dual-income couples," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 27-56.
    7. Reboul, E. & Guérin, I. & Nordman, C.J., 2021. "The gender of debt and credit: Insights from rural Tamil Nadu," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    8. Dirk Krueger & Fabrizio Perri, 2006. "Does Income Inequality Lead to Consumption Inequality? Evidence and Theory -super-1," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(1), pages 163-193.
    9. Yue, Pengpeng & Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Yin, Zhichao & Zhou, Haigang, 2022. "The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    10. Biljanovska, Nina & Palligkinis, Spyros, 2018. "Control thyself: Self-control failure and household wealth," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 280-294.
    11. Grinstein-Weiss, Michal & Spader, Jonathan & Yeo, Yeong Hun & Taylor, Andréa & Books Freeze, Elizabeth, 2011. "Parental transfer of financial knowledge and later credit outcomes among low- and moderate-income homeowners," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 78-85, January.
    12. Ning Tang, 2017. "Like Father Like Son: How Does Parents' Financial Behavior Affect Their Children's Financial Behavior?," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 284-311, July.
    13. Strömbäck, Camilla & Lind, Thérèse & Skagerlund, Kenny & Västfjäll, Daniel & Tinghög, Gustav, 2017. "Does self-control predict financial behavior and financial well-being?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 30-38.
    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. Boto-García, David & Bucciol, Alessandro & Manfrè, Martina, 2022. "The role of financial socialization and self-control on saving habits," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    2. Till Treeck, 2014. "Did Inequality Cause The U.S. Financial Crisis?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 421-448, July.
    3. Xu, Zhiyi & Yang, Jindi, 2025. "Impact of digital finance on rural industry revitalization," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Zhou, Jun & Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Li, Youwei & Yue, Pengpeng & Yan, Yuhan, 2025. "The sword of damocles: Debt and depression," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    5. Wei Yu & Huiqin Huang & Xinyan Kong & Keying Zhu, 2023. "Can Digital Inclusive Finance Improve the Financial Performance of SMEs?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Tang, Xinhui & Du, Shujun & Deng, Wenwen, 2025. "Business innovation in digital startups: A case study of an AI startup," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Zhan, Zhihao & Zhang, Anqi & Zhang, Mingxin & Zhang, Mingxin, 2024. "Unveiling the adverse selection problem in China's digital lending market: Evidence from CHFS," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    8. He, Hui & Shi, Wei, 2023. "Enterprise litigation risk and enterprise performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    9. Yue, Sishi & Yang, Mo & Dong, Dayong, 2024. "Do enterprises adopting digital finance exhibit higher values? Based on textual analysis," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    10. Alvarez-Cuadrado, Francisco & Japaridze, Irakli, 2017. "Trickle-down consumption, financial deregulation, inequality, and indebtedness," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1-26.
    11. Ashley Larsen Gibby & Logan Pettit & E. Jeffrey Hill & Jeremy Yorgason & Erin Kramer Holmes, 2021. "Implicit and Explicit Childhood Financial Socialization: Protective Factors for Marital Financial Disagreements," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 225-236, June.
    12. Ye, Xiang & Yue, Pengpeng, 2024. "What matters to reshaping consumption patterns in China? Digital inclusion and supply chain," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    13. Yang, Yuelin, 2025. "The development of digital finance and the crime rate of theft," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    14. Xing, Manjiang & Gong, Chi & Moon, Gyu-Hyen & Ge, Xiaohong, 2025. "Digital economy, dual innovation capability and enterprise labor productivity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    15. Chen, Chuna & Tan, Zhuomin & Liu, Song, 2024. "How does financial literacy affect households’ financial fragility? The role of insurance awareness," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    16. Zhang, Xinyu & Liu, Yixuan & Yu, Shaoze & Lin, Ouwen & Meng, Lu, 2025. "Impact of environmental protection tax on enterprise digital transformation: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    17. Van, Huong Vu & Kim, Cuong Ly, 2025. "Does increased digital transformation decrease corporate cash holdings? The moderating role of business environment quality," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    18. Wei, Feiqiong & Xie, Baiwei & Chen, Mingyan, 2025. "Digital financial inclusion, e-commerce development and entrepreneurial activity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    19. Tao, Xu & Cai, Wanlin, 2025. "The impact of digital finance on export competitiveness: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

    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:46:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10834-024-10013-9. 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.