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The growth of consumer credit and the household debt service burden

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  • Dean M. Maki

Abstract

Household debt is at a record high relative to disposable income. Some analysts are concerned that this unprecedented level of debt might pose a risk to the financial health of American households and ultimately lead them to curtail their spending. In this paper, I summarize some of the relevant facts concerning the growth of consumer credit and the household debt service burden, outline the results of the research that has been conducted in this area, and look at the questions that might be answered with additional research.

Suggested Citation

  • Dean M. Maki, 2000. "The growth of consumer credit and the household debt service burden," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2000-12, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2000-12
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. repec:fth:jonhop:386 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Sydney Ludvigson, 1999. "Consumption And Credit: A Model Of Time-Varying Liquidity Constraints," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(3), pages 434-447, August.
    11. Jonathan McCarthy, 1997. "Debt, delinquencies, and consumer spending," Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 3(Feb).
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    Cited by:

    1. Kennickell, Arthur & Lusardi, Annamaria, 2005. "Disentangling the importance of the precautionary saving motive," CFS Working Paper Series 2006/15, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    2. Kösters, Wim & Paul, Stephan & Stein, Stefan, 2004. "An economic analysis of the EU commission's proposal for a new Consumer Credit Directive: Offering consumers more protection or restricting their options?," RWI Materialien 9, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung.
    3. A Lusardi & J Skinner & S Venti, 2001. "Saving puzzles and saving policies in the United States," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 17(1), pages 95-115, Spring.
    4. Wim Kösters & Stephan Paul & Stefan Stein, 2004. "An economic analysis of the EU Commission's proposal for a new Consumer Credit Directive – Offering consumers more protection or restricting their options?," RWI Materialien, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, pages 33, 02.
    5. Markus Christen & Ruskin Morgan, 2005. "Keeping Up With the Joneses: Analyzing the Effect of Income Inequality on Consumer Borrowing," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 145-173, June.
    6. repec:zbw:rwimat:009 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Hoelzl, Erik & Pollai, Maria & Kamleitner, Bernadette, 2009. "Experience, prediction and recollection of loan burden," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 446-454, June.
    8. Andrew Kish, 2006. "Perspectives on recent trends in consumer debt," Consumer Finance Institute discussion papers 06-05, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    9. Thitima Chucherd, 2006. "The Effect of Household Debt on Consumption in Thailand," Working Papers 2006-06, Monetary Policy Group, Bank of Thailand.
    10. Andrew C. Worthington, 2003. "Debt as a source of financial stress in Australian households," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 164, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology.
    11. Arthur Kennickell & Annamaria Lusardi, 2004. "Disentangling the Importance of the Precautionary Saving Mode," NBER Working Papers 10888, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Bechlioulis, Alexandros P. & Brissimis, Sophocles N., 2019. "Consumer debt non-payment and the borrowing constraint: Implications for consumer behavior," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 161-172.
    13. Rinaldi, Laura & Sanchis-Arellano, Alicia, 2006. "Household debt sustainability: what explains household non-performing loans? An empirical analysis," Working Paper Series 570, European Central Bank.
    14. Lucia Dunn & Tufan Ekici & Paul J. Lavrakas & Jeffery A. Stec, 2004. "An Index to Track Credit Card Debt and Predict Consumption," Working Papers 04-04, Ohio State University, Department of Economics.
    15. Guglielmo Forges Davanzati & Andrea Pacella, 2010. "Emulation, indebtedness and income distribution: A monetary theory of production approach," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 7(1), pages 147-165.
    16. Tufan Ekici & Lucia Dunn, 2010. "Credit card debt and consumption: evidence from household-level data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 455-462.
    17. Emilio Fernandez-Corugedo & John Muellbauer, 2006. "Consumer credit conditions in the United Kingdom," Bank of England working papers 314, Bank of England.
    18. Ms. Meral Karasulu, 2008. "Stress Testing Household Debt in Korea," IMF Working Papers 2008/255, International Monetary Fund.
    19. Marcel Fafchamps & Flore Gubert, 2007. "Contingent Loan Repayment in the Philippines," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(4), pages 633-667, July.
    20. Eric Tymoigne, 2007. "A Hard-Nosed Look at Worsening U.S. Household Finance," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 88-111.
    21. Sebastian Barnes & Garry Young, 2003. "The rise in US household debt: assessing its causes and sustainability," Bank of England working papers 206, Bank of England.
    22. Andrew C. Worthington, 2003. "Emergency finance in Australian households An empirical analysis of capacity and sources," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 163, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology.
    23. Webley, Paul & Nyhus, Ellen K., 2006. "Parents' influence on children's future orientation and saving," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 140-164, February.

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