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Self-Control, Financial Literacy and Co-Holding Puzzle

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  • John Gathergood

    ()

    (School of Economics, University of Nottingham)

  • Joerg Weber

    ()

    (School of Economics, University of Nottingham)

Abstract

We use UK household survey data incorporating measures of financial literacy and behavioural characteristics to analyse the puzzling co-existence of high cost revolving consumer credit alongside low yield liquid savings in household balance sheets, which we term the ‘co-holding puzzle’. Approximately 20% of households in our sample co-hold, on average, £6,500 of revolving consumer credit alongside £8,000 of liquid savings. Co-holders are typically more financially literate, with above average income and education. However, we show co-holding is also associated with impulsive spending behaviour on the part of the household. Our results lend empirical support to theoretical models in which sophisticated households co-hold as a means of managing a self-control problem.

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File URL: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/cedex/documents/papers/cedex-discussion-paper-2012-02.pdf
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Paper provided by The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham in its series Discussion Papers with number 2012-02.

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Date of creation: Feb 2012
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Handle: RePEc:not:notcdx:2012-02
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Web page: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/economics/cedex/

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Keywords: consumer credit; self-control; financial literacy;

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