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How Did CESEE Households Weather the Crisis? Evidence from the OeNB Euro Survey

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Abstract

During the crisis period from 2008 to 2013 household disposable income deteriorated significantly in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE), forcing households to adjust their consumption plans. Against this background, the present paper sheds some light on households’ consumption smoothing behavior based on microdata supplied by the OeNB Euro Survey for ten countries in CESEE. We find that households reacted to stagnating and in some countries falling income mostly by cutting back on everyday consumption and reducing or postponing large expenditures, while other households coped by reducing the amounts they were setting aside as savings or by drawing on existing savings, overdrawing their current accounts and increasing work hours. Moreover, we find that macroeconomic forecasts by the European Commission, the wiiw and the OeNB are broadly in line with economic sentiment among CESEE households. Finally, Euro Survey results revealed that not all households were able to borrow as much as they would have liked to and that the share of households planning to take out a loan fell between 2008 and 2013.

Suggested Citation

  • Majken Corti & Thomas Scheiber, 2014. "How Did CESEE Households Weather the Crisis? Evidence from the OeNB Euro Survey," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 2, pages 76-87.
    • Handle: RePEc:onb:oenbfi:y:2014:i:2:b:2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elisabeth Beckmann & Isabella Moder, 2013. "Households’ Expectations and Macroeconomic Outcomes – Evidence from the Euro Survey," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 4, pages 65-76.
    2. repec:onb:oenbwp:y:2012:i:181:b:1 is not listed on IDEAS
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    4. Elisabeth Beckmann & Mariya Hake & Jarmila Urvová, 2013. "Determinants of Households’ Savings in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 3, pages 8-29.
    5. Elisabeth Beckmann & Jarko Fidrmuc & Helmut Stix, 2012. "Foreign Currency Loans and Loan Arrears of Households in Central and Eastern Europe," Working Papers 181, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    6. Christopher D. Carroll, 1992. "The Buffer-Stock Theory of Saving: Some Macroeconomic Evidence," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 23(2), pages 61-156.
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    Cited by:

    1. Melanie Koch & Thomas Scheiber, 2022. "Household savings in CESEE: expectations, experiences and common predictors," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q1/22, pages 29-54.
    2. Piotr Krajewski & Agata Szymanska, 2019. "The effectiveness of fiscal policy within business cycle-Ricardians vs. non-Ricardians approach," Baltic Journal of Economics, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 195-215.
    3. Silvia PALASCA, 2015. "Living Standards In Europe. A Regional View," EURINT, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 2, pages 297-307.
    4. Elisabeth Beckmann & Anita Roitner & Helmut Stix, 2015. "A Local or a Foreign Currency Loan? Evidence on the Role of Loan Characteristics, Preferences of Households and the Effect of Foreign Banks," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 1, pages 24-48.
    5. Elisabeth Beckmann, & Antje Hildebrandt & Krisztina Jäger-Gyovai, 2016. "Current risks in the CESEE residential property market: evidence from the OeNB Euro Survey," Chapters from NBP Conference Publications, in: Hanna Augustyniak & Jacek Łaszek & Krzysztof Olszewski & Joanna Waszczuk (ed.), Papers presented during the Narodowy Bank Polski Workshop: Recent trends in the real estate market and its analysis - 2015 edition, chapter 4, pages v1, 103-1, Narodowy Bank Polski.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises

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