IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v118y2014i1p365-385.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Index of Household Financial Condition, Combining Subjective and Objective Indicators: An Appraisal of Italian Households

Author

Listed:
  • Piotr Bialowolski
  • Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska

Abstract

With data from the Italian Survey of Household Income and Wealth, we present an Index of Household Financial Condition and quantify with it the position of households between 2004 and 2010. The Index of Household Financial Condition is composed of subjective and objective indicators, which enable to capture differently the existing uncertainty concerning the future development of a household’s financial situation. We show with a measurement model based on multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) that the proposed Index is two-dimensional and comprises financial position and financial prudence. Through application of the MGCFA, we show that the interrelations between the indicators had not changed at four measurement occasions (2004–2010), and thus the proposed set comprises a coherent and time-invariant framework for measuring two dimensions of the latent concept: financial condition. Established measurement invariance in the MGCFA framework allows an assessment of trend in financial position and financial prudence of Italian households. We show that the financial position of Italian households improved in the period 2004–2006 and later declined. Improvement of the financial prudence was observed, however, till 2008. Finally, we incorporate a set of socioeconomic features of Italian households into a structural equation model. With the provided set of indicators, we find positive relation between age and both financial position and prudence, but also we show the positive impact of white-collar jobs on scores in each of the dimensions of the financial condition. Copyright European Union 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Piotr Bialowolski & Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska, 2014. "The Index of Household Financial Condition, Combining Subjective and Objective Indicators: An Appraisal of Italian Households," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 365-385, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:118:y:2014:i:1:p:365-385
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0401-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11205-013-0401-0
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-013-0401-0?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yvonne McCarthy, 2011. "Behavioural Characteristics and Financial Distress," BCL working papers 59, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    2. Tullio Jappelli & Immacolata Marino & Mario Padula, 2014. "Households' Saving and Debt in Italy," Politica economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2-3, pages 175-202.
    3. Lars Osberg, 1998. "Economic Insecurity," Discussion Papers 0088, University of New South Wales, Social Policy Research Centre.
    4. Annamaria Lusardi & Daniel Schneider & Peter Tufano, 2011. "Financially Fragile Households: Evidence and Implications," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 42(1 (Spring), pages 83-150.
    5. Keese, Matthias, 2012. "Who feels constrained by high debt burdens? Subjective vs. objective measures of household debt," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 125-141.
    6. Marianna Brunetti & Elena Giarda & Costanza Torricelli, 2016. "Is Financial Fragility a Matter of Illiquidity? An Appraisal for Italian Households," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 628-649, December.
    7. Lin Zhang, 2013. "Saving and retirement behavior under quasi-hyperbolic discounting," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 109(1), pages 57-71, May.
    8. Onori, Daria, 2012. "Welfare, competition, specialization and growth," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 355-370.
    9. Giarda, Elena, 2013. "Persistency of financial distress amongst Italian households: Evidence from dynamic models for binary panel data," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3425-3434.
    10. Luisa ANDERLONI & Daniela VANDONE, 2010. "Risk of over-indebtedness and behavioural factors," Departmental Working Papers 2010-25, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    11. Marcelo Fuenzalida & Jaime Ruiz-Tagle, 2011. "Household Financial Vulnerability," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Rodrigo Alfaro (ed.),Financial Stability, Monetary Policy, and Central Banking, edition 1, volume 15, chapter 10, pages 299-326, Central Bank of Chile.
    12. Christopher D. Carroll & Patrick Toche, 2009. "A Tractable Model of Buffer Stock Saving," NBER Working Papers 15265, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Bostic, Raphael & Gabriel, Stuart & Painter, Gary, 2009. "Housing wealth, financial wealth, and consumption: New evidence from micro data," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 79-89, January.
    14. Orla May & Merxe Tudela, 2005. "When is mortgage indebtedness a financial burden to British households? A dynamic probit approach," Bank of England working papers 277, Bank of England.
    15. Ramon Gomez-Salvador & Adriana Lojschova & Thomas Westermann, 2011. "Household Sector Borrowing in the Euro Area: A Micro Data Persective," BCL working papers 58, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    16. Georgarakos, Dimitris & Lojschova, Adriana & Ward-Warmedinger, Melanie E., 2009. "Mortgage Indebtedness and Household Financial Distress," IZA Discussion Papers 4631, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Shubhasis Dey & Ramdane Djoudad & Yaz Terajima, 2008. "A Tool for Assessing Financial Vulnerabilities in the Household Sector," Bank of Canada Review, Bank of Canada, vol. 2008(Summer), pages 47-56.
    18. Marianna Brunetti & Elena Giarda & Costanza Torricelli, 2016. "Is Financial Fragility a Matter of Illiquidity? An Appraisal for Italian Households," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 628-649, December.
    19. Tullio Jappelli & Marco Pagano & Marco Di Maggio, 2013. "Households' indebtedness and financial fragility," Journal of Financial Management, Markets and Institutions, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 23-46, January.
    20. Ramon Gomez-Salvador & Adriana Lojschova & Thomas Westermann, 2011. "Household Sector Borrowing in the Euro Area: A Micro Data Persective," BCL working papers 58, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    21. Luisa ANDERLONI & Emanuele BACCHIOCCHI & Daniela VANDONE, 2011. "Household financial vulnerability: an empirical analysis," Departmental Working Papers 2011-02, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano, revised 03 Nov 2011.
    22. Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & David C. Ribar, 2009. "Financial Stress, Family Conflict, and Youths’ Successful Transition to Adult Roles," CEPR Discussion Papers 627, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    23. 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.
    24. Martijn G. De Jong & Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp & Jean-Paul Fox, 2007. "Relaxing Measurement Invariance in Cross-National Consumer Research Using a Hierarchical IRT Model," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(2), pages 260-278, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liaqat Ali & Muhammad Kamran Naqi Khan & Habib Ahmad, 2020. "Education of the Head and Financial Vulnerability of Households: Evidence from a Household’s Survey Data in Pakistan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 439-463, January.
    2. Liaqat Ali & Muhammad Kamran Naqi Khan & Habib Ahmad, 2020. "Financial Fragility of Pakistani Household," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 572-590, September.
    3. Antonio Acconcia & Maria Carannante & Michelangelo Misuraca & Germana Scepi, 2020. "Measuring Vulnerability to Poverty with Latent Transition Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 1-31, August.
    4. Joaquín Prieto, 2022. "A Multidimensional Approach to Measuring Economic Insecurity: The Case of Chile," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 823-855, September.
    5. Dwini Handayani & Ummu Salamah & Restananda Nabilla Yusacc, 2016. "Indebtedness and Subjective Financial Wellbeing of Households in Indonesia," Economics and Finance in Indonesia, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, vol. 62, pages 78-87, August.
    6. Aneta Maria Kłopocka, 2017. "Does Consumer Confidence Forecast Household Saving and Borrowing Behavior? Evidence for Poland," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 693-717, September.
    7. repec:ers:journl:v:xxiv:y:2021:i:3:p:874-898 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Concepción Moreno-Maldonado & Francisco Rivera & Pilar Ramos & Carmen Moreno, 2018. "Measuring the Socioeconomic Position of Adolescents: A Proposal for a Composite Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 517-538, April.
    9. Joaquín Prieto, 2021. "A multidimensional approach to measuring economic insecurity: The case of Chile," Working Papers 591, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    10. Elena Grimaccia & Alessia Naccarato, 2020. "Confirmatory factor analysis to validate a new measure of food insecurity: perceived and actual constructs," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1211-1232, August.
    11. Filip Chybalski & Edyta Marcinkiewicz, 2016. "The Replacement Rate: An Imperfect Indicator of Pension Adequacy in Cross-Country Analyses," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 99-117, March.
    12. Marco Brandolini & Federica Coroneo & Elena Giarda & Cristiana Moriconi & Sarah Grace See, 2022. "Differences in Perceptions of the Housing Cost Burden Among European Countries," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 12(4), pages 1-5.
    13. Marlena Piekut, 2020. "Living Standards in One-Person Households of the Elderly Population," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-26, January.
    14. Prieto, Joaquin, 2021. "A multidimensional approach to measuring economic insecurity: the case of Chile," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112490, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Bialowolski, Piotr & Weziak-Bialowolska, Dorota & McNeely, Eileen, 2021. "A socially responsible financial institution – The bumpy road to improving consumer well-being," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    16. Prieto Suarez, Joaquin, 2022. "A multidimensional approach to measuring economic insecurity: the case of Chile," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114623, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Ryszard Kowalski & Agnieszka Strzelecka & Agnieszka Wałęga & Grzegorz Wałęga, 2023. "Do Children Matter to the Household Debt Burden?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 1007-1022, December.
    18. Aneta M. Klopocka & Rumiana Gorska, 2021. "Forecasting Household Saving Rate with Consumer Confidence Indicator and its Components: Panel Data Analysis of 14 European Countries," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3 - Part ), pages 874-898.

    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. Piotr Bialowolski & Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska & Eileen McNeely, 2021. "The Role of Financial Fragility and Financial Control for Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 1137-1157, June.
    2. Marianna Brunetti & Elena Giarda & Costanza Torricelli, 2016. "Is Financial Fragility a Matter of Illiquidity? An Appraisal for Italian Households," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 628-649, December.
    3. Marco Brandolini & Federica Coroneo & Elena Giarda & Cristiana Moriconi & Sarah Grace See, 2022. "Differences in Perceptions of the Housing Cost Burden Among European Countries," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 12(4), pages 1-5.
    4. Grzegorz Wałęga & Agnieszka Wałęga, 2021. "Over-indebted Households in Poland: Classification Tree Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 561-584, January.
    5. Sara Fernández‐López & Marcos Álvarez‐Espiño & Lucía Rey‐Ares & Sandra Castro‐González, 2024. "Consumer financial vulnerability: Review, synthesis, and future research agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1045-1084, September.
    6. Alessandra Bettocchi & Elena Giarda & Cristiana Moriconi & Federica Orsini & Rita Romeo, 2018. "Assessing and predicting financial vulnerability of Italian households: a micro-macro approach," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 45(3), pages 587-605, August.
    7. Marianna Brunetti & Elena Giarda & Costanza Torricelli, 2016. "Is Financial Fragility a Matter of Illiquidity? An Appraisal for Italian Households," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(4), pages 628-649, December.
    8. Marianna Brunetti & Elena Giarda & Costanza Torricelli, 2020. "Financial Fragility across Europe and the US: The Role of Portfolio Choices, Household Features and Economic-institutional Setup," CEIS Research Paper 487, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 28 May 2020.
    9. Liaqat Ali & Muhammad Kamran Naqi Khan & Habib Ahmad, 2020. "Education of the Head and Financial Vulnerability of Households: Evidence from a Household’s Survey Data in Pakistan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 439-463, January.
    10. Merike Kukk, 2014. "Distinguishing the components of household financial wealth: the impact of liabilities on assets in Euro Area countries," Bank of Estonia Working Papers wp2014-2, Bank of Estonia, revised 10 Oct 2014.
    11. David ARISTEI & Manuela Gallo, 2012. "The Drivers of Household Over-Indebtedness and Delinquency on Mortgage Loans: Evidence from Italian Microdata," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 105/2012, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.
    12. 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.
    13. Liaqat Ali & Muhammad Kamran Naqi Khan & Habib Ahmad, 2020. "Financial Fragility of Pakistani Household," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 572-590, September.
    14. Lenarčič, Črt, 2022. "Drivers of household arrears: an euro area country panel data analysis," MPRA Paper 114558, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Gathergood, John & Wylie, Daniel, 2018. "Why are some households so poorly insured?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 1-12.
    16. Chen, Bo & Zeng, Ning & Tam, Kwo Ping, 2024. "Do social networks affect household financial vulnerability? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    17. Chichaibelu, Bezawit Beyene & Waibel, Hermann, 2018. "Over-indebtedness and its persistence in rural households in Thailand and Vietnam," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-23.
    18. Chichaibelu, Bezawit Beyene & Waibel, Hermann, 2017. "Borrowing from “Pui” to Pay “Pom”: Multiple Borrowing and Over-Indebtedness in Rural Thailand," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 338-350.
    19. Barbara Cavalletti & Corrado Lagazio & Daniela Vandone & Elena Lagomarsino, 2012. "The role of financial position on consumer indebted-ness. An empirical analysis in Italy," DEP - series of economic working papers 8/2012, University of Genoa, Research Doctorate in Public Economics.
    20. Massimo Baldini & Costanza Torricelli & Maria Cesira Urzì Brancati, 2018. "Family ties: Labor supply responses to cope with a household employment shock," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 809-832, September.

    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:spr:soinre:v:118:y:2014:i:1:p:365-385. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.