IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/padigm/v28y2024i1p84-100.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evolution of the Household Debt Narrative: A PRISMA-compliant Systematic Literature Review

Author

Listed:
  • Bashir Ahmad Joo
  • Simtiha Ishaq Mir

Abstract

This article focuses on the narratives that are developing in the household debt arena through a systematic and in-depth examination of the literature. The article used co-occurrence analysis to identify the major themes in the household debate followed by a review of the top 100 highly cited articles, which is supplemented with citation tracking. It is found that the past research mainly concentrates on the effect of financialization and deregulation of global markets, mortgages and housing bubbles, the upward trending inequality, the GDP growth and financial stability as well as the relationship between the household balance sheet and macroeconomic fluctuations. This study highlights the significant and upcoming trends in the study of household finances placing it at the centre of academic discourse on economic crisis and financial stability. It tracks the channels through which household debt could have potential impact on economic stability by summarizing the significant studies and deriving conclusions and direction for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Bashir Ahmad Joo & Simtiha Ishaq Mir, 2024. "Evolution of the Household Debt Narrative: A PRISMA-compliant Systematic Literature Review," Paradigm, , vol. 28(1), pages 84-100, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:padigm:v:28:y:2024:i:1:p:84-100
    DOI: 10.1177/09718907241248493
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09718907241248493
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09718907241248493?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barry Z. Cynamon & Steven M. Fazzari, 2016. "Inequality, the Great Recession and slow recovery," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 40(2), pages 373-399.
    2. Song Han & Geng Li, 2011. "Household Borrowing after Personal Bankruptcy," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43, pages 491-517, March.
    3. Averett, Susan L. & Smith, Julie K., 2014. "Financial hardship and obesity," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 201-212.
    4. Atif Mian & Amir Sufi & Emil Verner, 2017. "How do Credit Supply Shocks Affect the Real Economy? Evidence from the United States in the 1980s," NBER Working Papers 23802, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Cerutti, Eugenio & Dagher, Jihad & Dell'Ariccia, Giovanni, 2017. "Housing finance and real-estate booms: A cross-country perspective," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-13.
    6. Glauco De Vita & Yun Luo, 2021. "Financialization, household debt and income inequality: Empirical evidence," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1917-1937, April.
    7. Xinhua Gu & Bihong Huang, 2014. "Does Inequality Lead to a Financial Crisis? Revisited," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 502-516, August.
    8. Atif Mian & Amir Sufi, 2010. "Household Leverage and the Recession of 2007–09," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 58(1), pages 74-117, August.
    9. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/e222osgnt859os6g897r4ju4u is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Matteo Iacoviello, 2008. "Household Debt and Income Inequality, 1963-2003," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(5), pages 929-965, August.
    11. Till Treeck, 2014. "Did Inequality Cause The U.S. Financial Crisis?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 421-448, July.
    12. Atif Mian & Amir Sufi & Francesco Trebbi, 2015. "Foreclosures, House Prices, and the Real Economy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(6), pages 2587-2634, December.
    13. Dimitris Georgarakos & Michael Haliassos & Giacomo Pasini, 2014. "Household Debt and Social Interactions," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(5), pages 1404-1433.
    14. Boz, Emine & Mendoza, Enrique G., 2014. "Financial innovation, the discovery of risk, and the U.S. credit crisis," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1-22.
    15. Mendicino, Caterina & Punzi, Maria Teresa, 2014. "House prices, capital inflows and macroprudential policy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 337-355.
    16. Alejandro Justiniano & Giorgio E. Primiceri & Andrea Tambalotti, 2019. "Credit Supply and the Housing Boom," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(3), pages 1317-1350.
    17. Paolo Gelain & Kevin J. Lansing & Caterina Mendicino, 2013. "House Prices, Credit Growth, and Excess Volatility: Implications for Monetary and Macroprudential Policy," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 9(2), pages 219-276, June.
    18. Ulrike Malmendier & Stefan Nagel, 2016. "Learning from Inflation Experiences," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(1), pages 53-87.
    19. Atif Mian & Amir Sufi & Emil Verner, 2017. "Household Debt and Business Cycles Worldwide," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(4), pages 1755-1817.
    20. James Cloyne & Kilian Huber & Ethan Ilzetzki & Henrik Kleven, 2019. "The Effect of House Prices on Household Borrowing: A New Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(6), pages 2104-2136, June.
    21. Cardaci, Alberto, 2018. "Inequality, household debt and financial instability: An agent-based perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 434-458.
    22. Reinhart, Karmen & Rogoff, Kenneth, 2009. ""This time is different": panorama of eight centuries of financial crises," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 1, pages 77-114, March.
    23. Alan Walks, 2014. "Canada's Housing Bubble Story: Mortgage Securitization, the State, and the Global Financial Crisis," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 256-284, January.
    24. Oikarinen, Elias, 2009. "Interaction between housing prices and household borrowing: The Finnish case," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 747-756, April.
    25. Lawrence Berger & J. Michael Collins & Laura Cuesta, 2016. "Household Debt and Adult Depressive Symptoms in the United States," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 42-57, March.
    26. Bernanke, Ben S & Blinder, Alan S, 1992. "The Federal Funds Rate and the Channels of Monetary Transmission," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(4), pages 901-921, September.
    27. Mathias Klein, 2015. "Inequality and household debt: a panel cointegration analysis," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 42(2), pages 391-412, May.
    28. Òscar Jordà & Moritz Schularick & Alan M. Taylor, 2016. "The great mortgaging: housing finance, crises and business cycles," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 31(85), pages 107-152.
    29. Alpanda, Sami & Zubairy, Sarah, 2017. "Addressing household indebtedness: Monetary, fiscal or macroprudential policy?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 47-73.
    30. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-586, June.
    31. Sarah Brown & Karl Taylor, 2008. "Household debt and financial assets: evidence from Germany, Great Britain and the USA," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 171(3), pages 615-643, June.
    32. Peter Ganong & Pascal Noel, 2020. "Liquidity versus Wealth in Household Debt Obligations: Evidence from Housing Policy in the Great Recession," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(10), pages 3100-3138, October.
    33. Alberto Cardaci & Francesco Saraceno, 2019. "Inequality and imbalances: a monetary union agent-based model," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 853-890, July.
    34. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2014. "This Time is Different: A Panoramic View of Eight Centuries of Financial Crises," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 15(2), pages 215-268, November.
    35. Atif Mian & Amir Sufi, 2011. "House Prices, Home Equity-Based Borrowing, and the US Household Leverage Crisis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 2132-2156, August.
    36. Jakob Kapeller & Bernhard Schütz, 2015. "Conspicuous Consumption, Inequality and Debt: The Nature of Consumption-driven Profit-led Regimes," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(1), pages 51-70, February.
    37. Martin Flodén & Matilda Kilström & Jósef Sigurdsson & Roine Vestman, 2021. "Household Debt and Monetary Policy: Revealing the Cash-Flow Channel," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(636), pages 1742-1771.
    38. Sarah Brown & Gaia Garino & Karl Taylor, 2013. "Household Debt And Attitudes Toward Risk," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59(2), pages 283-304, June.
    39. Engelbert Stockhammer & Rafael Wildauer, 2016. "Debt-driven growth? Wealth, distribution and demand in OECD countries," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 40(6), pages 1609-1634.
    40. Cerutti, Eugenio & Claessens, Stijn & Laeven, Luc, 2017. "The use and effectiveness of macroprudential policies: New evidence," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 203-224.
    41. Andrade, Philippe & Gautier, Erwan & Mengus, Eric, 2023. "What matters in households’ inflation expectations?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 50-68.
    42. Raghuram G. Rajan, 2010. "Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9111.
    43. Allan Crawford & Umar Faruqui, 2011. "What Explains Trends in Household Debt in Canada?," Bank of Canada Review, Bank of Canada, vol. 2011(Winter), pages 3-15.
    44. Feng, Xiangnan & Lu, Bin & Song, Xinyuan & Ma, Shuang, 2019. "Financial literacy and household finances: A Bayesian two-part latent variable modeling approach," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 119-137.
    45. Barry Eichengreen & Kris J. Mitchener, 2004. "The Great Depression As A Credit Boom Gone Wrong," Research in Economic History, in: Research in Economic History, pages 183-237, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    46. Benczúr, Péter & Karagiannis, Stelios & Kvedaras, Virmantas, 2019. "Finance and economic growth: Financing structure and non-linear impact," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    47. Nicolas Albacete & Peter Lindner, 2013. "Household Vulnerability in Austria – A Microeconomic Analysis Based on the Household Finance and Consumption Survey," Financial Stability Report, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 25, pages 57-73.
    48. Mr. Adrian Alter & Elizabeth M. Mahoney, 2020. "Household Debt and House Prices-at-risk: A Tale of Two Countries," IMF Working Papers 2020/042, International Monetary Fund.
    49. 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.
    50. Mr. Michael Kumhof & Mr. Romain Ranciere & Pablo Winant, 2013. "Inequality, Leverage and Crises: The Case of Endogenous Default," IMF Working Papers 2013/249, International Monetary Fund.
    51. Engelbert Stockhammer, 2016. "Neoliberal growth models, monetary union and the Euro crisis. A post-Keynesian perspective," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 365-379, July.
    52. Engelbert Stockhammer, 2015. "Rising inequality as a cause of the present crisis," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 39(3), pages 935-958.
    53. Valerie Heintz-Martin & Claudia Recksiedler & Alexandra N. Langmeyer, 2022. "Household Debt, Maternal Well-Being, and Child Adjustment in Germany: Examining the Family Stress Model by Family Structure," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 338-353, June.
    54. Benjamin M. Friedman, 1986. "Increasing Indebtedness and Financial Stability in the United States," NBER Working Papers 2072, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    55. Enrique G. Mendoza, 2010. "Sudden Stops, Financial Crises, and Leverage," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 1941-1966, December.
    56. Tim Landvoigt, 2017. "Housing Demand During the Boom: The Role of Expectations and Credit Constraints," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(6), pages 1865-1902.
    57. Thomas A. Becker, 2010. "Outstanding Debt and the Household Portfolio," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(7), pages 2900-2934, July.
    58. Sebastian Jauch & Sebastian Watzka, 2011. "Financial Development and Income Inequality: A Panel Data Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 3687, CESifo.
    59. Shuying Shen & Abdoul G. Sam & Eugene Jones, 2014. "Credit Card Indebtedness and Psychological Well-Being Over Time: Empirical Evidence from a Household Survey," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 431-456, October.
    60. Berisha, Edmond & Meszaros, John & Olson, Eric, 2018. "Income inequality, equities, household debt, and interest rates: Evidence from a century of data," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1-14.
    61. Büyükkarabacak, Berrak & Valev, Neven T., 2010. "The role of household and business credit in banking crises," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1247-1256, June.
    62. Ogawa, Kazuo & Wan, Junmin, 2007. "Household debt and consumption: A quantitative analysis based on household micro data for Japan," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 127-142, June.
    63. Aldo Barba & Massimo Pivetti, 2009. "Rising household debt: Its causes and macroeconomic implications--a long-period analysis," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 33(1), pages 113-137, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stockhammer, Engelbert & Wildauer, Rafael, 2018. "Expenditure Cascades, Low Interest Rates or Property Booms? Determinants of Household Debt in OECD Countries," Review of Behavioral Economics, now publishers, vol. 5(2), pages 85-121, September.
    2. Yun K. Kim, 2020. "Household Debt Accumulation and the Great Recession of the United States: A Comparative Perspective," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(1), pages 26-49, March.
    3. Ying’ai Piao & Meiru Li & Hongyuan Sun & Ying Yang, 2023. "Income Inequality, Household Debt, and Consumption Growth in the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-13, February.
    4. D'Orazio, Paola, 2019. "Income inequality, consumer debt, and prudential regulation: An agent-based approach to study the emergence of crises and financial instability," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 308-331.
    5. Fierro, Luca Eduardo & Giri, Federico & Russo, Alberto, 2023. "Inequality-constrained monetary policy in a financialized economy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 366-385.
    6. Rémi Bazillier & Jérôme Hericourt, 2017. "The Circular Relationship Between Inequality, Leverage, And Financial Crises," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 463-496, April.
    7. Ozlem Albayrak, 2020. "Household Consumption, Household Indebtedness, and Inequality in Turkey: A Microeconometric Analysis," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_954, Levy Economics Institute.
    8. Rhee, Dong-Eun & Kim, Hyoungjong, 2018. "Does income inequality lead to banking crises in developing countries? Empirical evidence from cross-country panel data," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 206-218.
    9. Andrea Ferrero & Richard Harrison & Benjamin Nelson, 2024. "House Price Dynamics, Optimal LTV Limits and the Liquidity Trap," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(2), pages 940-971.
    10. Bazillier, Rémi & Héricourt, Jérôme & Ligonnière, Samuel, 2021. "Structure of income inequality and household leverage: Cross-country causal evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    11. Piotr Bolibok, 2018. "The Macroeconomic Drivers Of Household Debt-To-Income Ratio: An Evidence Frome The Oecd Countries," Copernican Journal of Finance & Accounting, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, vol. 7(2), pages 29-41.
    12. Mian, A. & Sufi, A., 2016. "Who Bears the Cost of Recessions? The Role of House Prices and Household Debt," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 255-296, Elsevier.
    13. Samatas, Andreas & Makrominas, Michalis & Moro, Andrea, 2019. "Financial intermediation, capital composition and income stagnation: The case of Europe," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 273-289.
    14. Pasquale Tridico & Riccardo Pariboni, 2018. "Inequality, financialization, and economic decline," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 236-259, April.
    15. Bodea, Cristina & Houle, Christian & Kim, Hyunwoo, 2021. "Do financial crises increase income inequality?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    16. Kirschenmann, Karolin & Malinen, Tuomas & Nyberg, Henri, 2016. "The risk of financial crises: Is there a role for income inequality?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 161-180.
    17. Eckhard Hein, 2017. "Post-Keynesian macroeconomics since the mid 1990s: main developments," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 14(2), pages 131-172, September.
    18. Brown, Sarah & Gray, Daniel & Montagnoli, Alberto, 2019. "Credit supply shocks and household leverage: Evidence from the US banking deregulation," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 97-115.
    19. Bazillier, Rémi & Héricourt, Jérôme & Ligonnière, Samuel, 2021. "Structure of income inequality and household leverage: Cross-country causal evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    20. Salvatore Morelli & Anthony Atkinson, 2015. "Inequality and crises revisited," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 32(1), pages 31-51, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:padigm:v:28:y:2024:i:1:p:84-100. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.