IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v163y2022i1d10.1007_s11205-022-02898-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gambling and Financial Stress

Author

Listed:
  • Isaac Koomson

    (University of New England
    Network for Socioeconomic Research and Advancement (NESRA))

  • Sefa Awaworyi Churchill

    (RMIT University)

  • Musharavati Ephraim Munyanyi

    (RMIT University)

Abstract

In recent years, gambling harm has been considered a significant public health concern due to its increasing socioeconomic costs. Although the adverse effects of gambling have attracted research interest, evidence of its effect on financial stress remains largely anecdotal. This study empirically examines the link between individual problem gambling severity and financial stress using panel data from the household, income and labour dynamics in Australia survey. After addressing endogeneity, we find that problem gambling severity is positively associated with self-reported financial stress. Thus, problem gambling severity tends to increase financial stress. This finding is robust to alternative measures of financial stress and gambling behaviour—whether gambling is measured using the problem gambling severity index, gambling risk statuses, number of gambling activities, or gambling expenditure. The positive effect of gambling on financial stress is largely driven by gambling activities involving scratch cards and poker machines. Although males exhibit higher levels of problem gambling severity, females are more financially stressed than males. Our findings also suggest that gambling widens the gender gap in financial stress. Further analysis reveals that financial resilience mediates the gambling-financial stress relationship. This implies that promoting policies that enhance financial resilience can help to insulate individuals against the effects of gambling on financial stress.

Suggested Citation

  • Isaac Koomson & Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Musharavati Ephraim Munyanyi, 2022. "Gambling and Financial Stress," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 473-503, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:163:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-022-02898-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-022-02898-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-022-02898-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-022-02898-6?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. Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Leora Klapper & Dorothe Singer & Saniya Ansar & Jake Hess, 2020. "The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and Opportunities to Expand Access to and Use of Financial Services," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(Supplemen), pages 2-8.
    2. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Lisa Farrell & Russell Smyth, 2019. "Neighbourhood ethnic diversity and mental health in Australia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(9), pages 1075-1087, September.
    3. Gong, Xiaodong & Zhu, Rong, 2019. "Cognitive abilities, non-cognitive skills, and gambling behaviors," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 51-69.
    4. Alberto Alesina & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2011. "Segregation and the Quality of Government in a Cross Section of Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1872-1911, August.
    5. Robert Breunig & Syed Hasan & Boyd Hunter, 2019. "Financial Stress and Indigenous Australians," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 95(308), pages 34-57, March.
    6. Marisa Paterson & Matthew Taylor & Matthew Gray, 2020. "Trajectories of Social and Economic Outcomes and Problem Gambling Risk in Australia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 297-321, February.
    7. Ruth Grant Kalischuk & Nadine Nowatzki & Kelly Cardwell & Kurt Klein & Jason Solowoniuk, 2006. "Problem Gambling and its Impact on Families: A Literature Review," International Gambling Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 31-60, June.
    8. Doug Widdowson & Kim Hailwood, 2007. "Financial literacy and its role in promoting a sound financial system," Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, vol. 70, June.
    9. Isaac Koomson & Renato A. Villano & David Hadley, 2020. "Intensifying financial inclusion through the provision of financial literacy training: a gendered perspective," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(4), pages 375-387, January.
    10. Mary Griswold & Mark Nichols, 2006. "Social Capital and Casino Gambling in U.S. Communities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 77(3), pages 369-394, July.
    11. Leora Klapper & Annamaria Lusardi, 2020. "Financial literacy and financial resilience: Evidence from around the world," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 49(3), pages 589-614, September.
    12. Mathew Mathews & Rachel Volberg, 2013. "Impact of problem gambling on financial, emotional and social well-being of Singaporean families," International Gambling Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 127-140, April.
    13. Isaac Koomson & Sefa Awaworyi Churchill, 2021. "Ethnic Diversity and Food Insecurity: Evidence from Ghana," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(11), pages 1912-1926, November.
    14. Koomson, Isaac & Danquah, Michael, 2021. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty: Empirical evidence from Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    15. Stöckl, Thomas & Huber, Jürgen & Kirchler, Michael & Lindner, Florian, 2015. "Hot hand and gambler's fallacy in teams: Evidence from investment experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 327-339.
    16. Isaac Koomson & Renato A. Villano & David Hadley, 2020. "Effect of Financial Inclusion on Poverty and Vulnerability to Poverty: Evidence Using a Multidimensional Measure of Financial Inclusion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 613-639, June.
    17. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Farrell, Lisa, 2018. "The impact of gambling on depression: New evidence from England and Scotland," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 475-483.
    18. Naomi Muggleton & Paula Parpart & Philip Newall & David Leake & John Gathergood & Neil Stewart, 2021. "The association between gambling and financial, social and health outcomes in big financial data," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(3), pages 319-326, March.
    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. Koomson, Isaac & Zhang, Quanda & Prakash, Kushneel, 2024. "Entrepreneurship and subjective wellbeing in China: Exploring linkages and potential channels," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    2. Opoku Adabor, 2024. "Australia's gambling epidemic: The role of Covid‐19 support payment," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 59-77, March.
    3. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Koomson, Isaac & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2023. "Transport poverty and obesity: The mediating roles of social capital and physical activity," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 155-166.
    4. Koomson, Isaac & Orkoh, Emmanuel & Ahmad, Shabbir, 2023. "Non-farm entrepreneurship, caste, and energy poverty in rural India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).

    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. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2021. "Locus of control and energy poverty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Opoku Adabor & Enock Kojo Ayesu, 2024. "Ethnic heterogeneity and healthcare utilization: The mediating role of poverty in Ghana," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1655-1682, December.
    3. Isaac Koomson & Raymond Elikplim Kofinti & Esther Laryea, 2024. "Financial inclusion and multidimensional child poverty," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 237-260, March.
    4. Ngoc Duc Lang & Ha Mai Tran & Giang Tra Nguyen & Duc Hong Vo, 2024. "An Untapped Instrument in the Fight Against Poverty: The Impacts of Financial Literacy on Poverty Worldwide," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(2), pages 657-695, September.
    5. Koomson, Isaac & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa, 2022. "Employment precarity and energy poverty in post-apartheid South Africa: Exploring the racial and ethnic dimensions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    6. Isaac Koomson & Simplice A. Asongu & Alex O. Acheampong, 2023. "Financial inclusion and food insecurity: Examining linkages and potential pathways," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 418-444, January.
    7. Kofinti, Raymond Elikplim & Koomson, Isaac & Paintsil, Jones Arkoh & Ameyaw, Edward Kwabena, 2022. "Reducing children's malnutrition by increasing mothers' health insurance coverage: A focus on stunting and underweight across 32 sub-Saharan African countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    8. Bukari, Chei & Broermann, Shanaz & Okai, Davidson, 2021. "Energy poverty and health expenditure: Evidence from Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    9. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2022. "Local area crime and energy poverty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    10. Koomson, Isaac & Danquah, Michael, 2021. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty: Empirical evidence from Ghana," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    11. Isaac Koomson & Moses Okumu & David Ansong, 2022. "Introducing the Disease Outbreak Resilience Index (DORI) Using the Demographic and Health Surveys Data from sub-Saharan Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1149-1175, August.
    12. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2022. "Protestantism and energy poverty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    13. Ackermann, Klaus & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell, 2024. "Estimating the relationship between ethnic inequality, conflict and voter turnout in Africa using geocoded data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    14. Koomson, Isaac & Zhang, Quanda & Prakash, Kushneel, 2024. "Entrepreneurship and subjective wellbeing in China: Exploring linkages and potential channels," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    15. Koomson, Isaac & Bukari, Chei & Villano, Renato A, 2021. "Mobile money adoption and response to idiosyncratic shocks: Empirics from five selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    16. Olayinka David-West & Oluwasola Oni & Folajimi Ashiru, 2022. "Diffusion of Innovations: Mobile Money Utility and Financial Inclusion in Nigeria. Insights from Agents and Unbanked Poor End Users," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 1753-1773, December.
    17. Isaac Koomson & Abdallah Abdul-Mumuni & Anthony Abbam, 2021. "Effect of financial inclusion on out-of-pocket health expenditure: empirics from Ghana," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(9), pages 1411-1425, December.
    18. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Koomson, Isaac & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2023. "Transport poverty and obesity: The mediating roles of social capital and physical activity," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 155-166.
    19. Sen, Kanchan Kumar & Karmaker, Shamal Chandra & Hosan, Shahadat & Chapman, Andrew J. & Uddin, Md Kamal & Saha, Bidyut Baran, 2023. "Energy poverty alleviation through financial inclusion: Role of gender in Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    20. Khan, Zeeshan & Haouas, Ilham & Trinh, Hai Hong & Badeeb, Ramez Abubakr & Zhang, Changyong, 2023. "Financial inclusion and energy poverty nexus in the era of globalization: Role of composite risk index and energy investment in emerging economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 382-399.

    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:163:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-022-02898-6. 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.