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How are household finances holding up against the Covid-19 shock?

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  • Anna Zabai

Abstract

As incomes shrink because of the Covid-19 shock, households must balance repaying debt with keeping up reasonable levels of consumption. In several countries, low- and middle-wealth households have insufficient liquid buffers to weather a long spell of unemployment without falling behind on debt repayments. The resilience of middle-wealth households is especially important: they hold relatively more (mortgage) debt and are more vulnerable in the countries that are more heavily exposed to the economic shock.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Zabai, 2020. "How are household finances holding up against the Covid-19 shock?," BIS Bulletins 22, Bank for International Settlements.
    • Handle: RePEc:bis:bisblt:22
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. MAMATZAKIS, emmanuel & MAMATZAKIS, E, 2022. "Understanding the impact of travel on wellbeing: evidence for Great Britain during the pandemic," MPRA Paper 112974, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Emmanuel C. Mamatzakis & Steven Ongena & Mike G. Tsionas, 2023. "The response of household debt to COVID-19 using a neural networks VAR in OECD," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 65-91, July.
    3. Carlos Madeira, 2022. "The double impact of deep social unrest and a pandemic: Evidence from Chile," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 135-171, February.
    4. Emmanuel Mamatzakis & Mike G. Tsionas & Steven Ongena, 2023. "Why do households repay their debt in UK during the COVID-19 crisis?," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 50(8), pages 1789-1823, April.
    5. Giorgio Calcagnini & Federico Favaretto & Germana Giombini & Fabio Tramontana, 2025. "Household Financial Fragility, Debt and Income in a Dynamic Model," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 65(2), pages 963-988, February.
    6. PINSHI, Christian P., 2020. "Arithmétique du Pass-through de la COVID 19 sur le Système financier Congolais [COVID-19 Pass-through Arithmetic on the Congolese Financial System]," MPRA Paper 101783, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. MALATA, Alain K. & PINSHI, Christian P., 2020. "Système financier et COVID-19 : Un examen de l’impact en RDC [Financial system and COVID-19: A review of the impact in the DRC]," MPRA Paper 107772, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Dancho Petrov & Evgeniya Tonkova & Svetlana Todorova, 2020. "Structural and Value Dimensions of Household Indebtedness in Bulgaria," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 9(1), pages 17-25, April.
    9. PINSHI, Christian P., 2023. "Claims, Deposits and Financial Conditions in DR Congo: Impact of COVID-19 on the Financial System," MPRA Paper 117381, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Maria Demertzis & Annamaria Lusardi & Marta Domínguez-Jiménez, 2020. "The financial fragility of European households in the time of COVID-19," Bruegel Policy Contributions 37489, Bruegel.

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