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Guiltily indebted? How a word is linked to individual borrowing

Author

Listed:
  • Bogatzki, Tamara
  • Stadelmann, David
  • Torgler, Benno

Abstract

Using data from the World Values Survey, we show that individuals who speak a language in which the same word is used for both (financial) debt and (moral) guilt have a statistically significant and economically meaningful lower likelihood of borrowing money. This relationship holds even after controlling for a range of covariates, fixed effects, grammatical future tense reference, and the Germanic language family. Our results suggest that the synonymity of debt and guilt may be a hitherto overlooked aspect in explaining borrowing behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Bogatzki, Tamara & Stadelmann, David & Torgler, Benno, 2025. "Guiltily indebted? How a word is linked to individual borrowing," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 32(9), pages 1269-1272.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:341506
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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