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Credit card utilization and consumption over the life cycle and business cycle

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  • Scott L. Fulford
  • Scott Schuh

Abstract

The revolving credit available to consumers changes substantially over the business cycle, life cycle, and for individuals. We show that debt changes at the same time as credit, so credit utilization is remarkably stable. From ages 20?40, for example, credit card limits grow by more than 700 percent, and yet utilization holds steadily at around 50 percent. We estimate a structural model of life-cycle consumption and credit use in which credit cards can be used for payments, precautionary smoothing, and life-cycle smoothing, uniting their monetary and revolving credit functions. Our estimates predict stable utilization closely matching the individual, life-cycle, and business-cycle relationships between credit and debt. The preference heterogeneity implied by the different uses of credit cards drives our results. The revealed preference that some people with credit cards borrow at high interest, while others do not, suggests that around half the population is living nearly hand to mouth.

Suggested Citation

  • Scott L. Fulford & Scott Schuh, 2017. "Credit card utilization and consumption over the life cycle and business cycle," Working Papers 17-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedbwp:17-14
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    Cited by:

    1. Conor B. Hamill & Raad Khraishi & Simona Gherghel & Jerrard Lawrence & Salvatore Mercuri & Ramin Okhrati & Greig A. Cowan, 2023. "Agent-based Modelling of Credit Card Promotions," Papers 2311.01901, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2023.
    2. Kartik Athreya & José Mustre-del-Río & Juan M Sánchez, 2019. "The Persistence of Financial Distress," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(10), pages 3851-3883.
    3. 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.
    4. Scott L. Fulford & Scott Schuh, 2020. "Revolving versus Convenience Use of Credit Cards: Evidence from U.S. Credit Bureau Data," Working Papers 20-12, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    5. Billings, Stephen B. & Gallagher, Emily A. & Ricketts, Lowell, 2022. "Let the rich be flooded: The distribution of financial aid and distress after hurricane harvey," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 797-819.
    6. Tamás Briglevics & Scott Schuh, 2020. "This Is What's in Your Wallet...and Here's How You Use It," Working Papers 20-04, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    7. Felt, Marie-Hélène & Hayashi, Fumiko & Stavins, Joanna & Welte, Angelika, 2023. "Regressive effects of payment card pricing and merchant cost pass-through in the United States and Canada," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    credit cards; life cycle; consumption; saving; precaution; buffer stock;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E27 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications

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