IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bdi/opques/qef_149_13.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Household over-indebtedness: definition and measurement with Italian data

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni D'Alessio

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Stefano Iezzi

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

The last decade has seen significant increases in consumer indebtedness in western countries, causing concern about its economic and social impact. In particular, over-indebtedness is attracting attention from national and international authorities because of its potential effect on both the sustainability of households� indebtedness and the stability of the financial system. From a social point of view, the excessive accumulation of debts accompanied by households� liquidity constraints causes a deterioration in households� social and economic well-being, thus leading in the long term to social exclusion and poverty. The aim of this paper is to present and analyze the main measures of over-indebtedness used in the literature. In particular, the paper uses data from the Italian Survey of Household Income and Wealth to extend the existing knowledge about the possible ways of measuring economic difficulty and over-indebtedness. The traditional and the new measures of over-indebtedness are subsequently compared with the measures of poverty in order to disentangle the relationship between the two phenomena.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni D'Alessio & Stefano Iezzi, 2013. "Household over-indebtedness: definition and measurement with Italian data," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 149, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_149_13
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/qef/2013-0149/QEF_149.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gianni Betti & Neil Dourmashkin & Mariacristina Rossi & Ya Ping Yin, 2007. "Consumer over‐indebtedness in the EU: measurement and characteristics," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(2), pages 136-156, May.
    2. Lusardi, Annamaria & Tufano, Peter, 2015. "Debt literacy, financial experiences, and overindebtedness," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 332-368, October.
    3. Lee Cronbach, 1951. "Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 16(3), pages 297-334, September.
    4. Sarah Bridges & Richard Disney, 2004. "Use of credit and arrears on debt among low-income families in the United Kingdom," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 25(1), pages 1-25, March.
    5. Andrea Brandolini & Silvia Magri & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2010. "Asset-based measurement of poverty," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 267-284.
    6. Giovanni D'Alessio & Ivan Faiella, 2002. "Non-response behaviour in the Bank of Italy�s Survey of Household Income and Wealth," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 462, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    7. 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.
    8. DeVaney, Sharon A. & Lytton, Ruth H., 1995. "Household insolvency: A review of household debt repayment, delinquency, and bankruptcy," Financial Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 137-156.
    9. Matthias Keese, 2009. "Triggers and Determinants of Severe Household Indebtedness in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 239, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    10. Andrea Neri & Roberta Zizza, 2010. "Income reporting behaviour in sample surveys," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 777, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    11. Bucks, Brian & Pence, Karen, 2008. "Do borrowers know their mortgage terms?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 218-233, September.
    12. repec:zbw:rwirep:0150 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Keese, Matthias, 2009. "Triggers and Determinants of Severe Household Indebtedness in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 150, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    14. Silvia Magri & Raffaella Pico & Cristiana Rampazzi, 2011. "Which households use consumer credit in Europe?," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 100, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    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. Giovanni D'Alessio & Stefano Iezzi, 2016. "Over-indebtedness in Italy: how widespread and persistent is it?," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 319, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Keese, Matthias, 2010. "Who Feels Constrained by High Debt Burdens? – Subjective vs. Objective Measures of Household Indebtedness," Ruhr Economic Papers 169, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    3. repec:zbw:rwirep:0169 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Matthias Keese, 2010. "Who Feels Constrained by High Debt Burdens? – Subjective vs. Objective Measures of Household Indebtedness," Ruhr Economic Papers 0169, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Dilla, Diana, 2017. "Staatsverschuldung und Verschuldungsmentalität [Public Debt and Debt Mentality]," MPRA Paper 79432, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Du Caju, Philip & Rycx, François & Tojerow, Ilan, 2016. "Unemployment risk and over-indebtedness," Working Paper Series 1908, European Central Bank.
    7. Philip Du Caju & François Rycx & Ilan Tojerow, 2015. "Unemployment Risk and Over-indebtedness A Micro-econometric Perspective," Working Papers CEB 15-046, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    8. Piotr Banbula & Arkadiusz Kotula & Joanna Gabriela Przeworska & Pawel Strzelecki, 2016. "Which households are really financially distressed: how micro data could inform the macroprudential policy," IFC Bulletins chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Combining micro and macro data for financial stability analysis, volume 41, Bank for International Settlements.
    9. Michael Goedde-Menke & Carsten Erner & Michael Oberste, 2017. "Towards more sustainable debt attitudes and behaviors: the importance of basic economic skills," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(5), pages 645-668, July.
    10. Keese, Matthias, 2009. "Triggers and Determinants of Severe Household Indebtedness in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 150, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    11. 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.
    12. repec:zbw:rwirep:0150 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Matthias Keese, 2009. "Triggers and Determinants of Severe Household Indebtedness in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 0150, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    14. Matthias Keese, 2009. "Triggers and Determinants of Severe Household Indebtedness in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 239, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    15. Dancho Petrov & Evgeniya Tonkova & Svetlana Todorova, 2020. "Structural and Value Dimensions of Household Indebtedness in Bulgaria," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 9(1), pages 17-25, April.
    16. Marco FRIGERIO & Cristina OTTAVIANI & Daniela VANDONE, 2018. "A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Consumer Over-Indebtedness: the Role of Impulsivity," Departmental Working Papers 2018-08, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    17. Matthias Keese & Hendrik Schmitz, 2014. "Broke, Ill, and Obese: Is There an Effect of Household Debt on Health?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(3), pages 525-541, September.
    18. Cesar Leandro, Julio & Botelho, Delane, 2022. "Consumer over-indebtedness: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 535-551.
    19. 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.
    20. Sarah Kuypers & Gerlinde Verbist, 2022. "Over-indebtedness and poverty : Patterns across household types and policy effects," Working Paper Research 420, National Bank of Belgium.
    21. 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.
    22. Heindl, Peter & Liessem, Verena, 2017. "Ursachen von Stromsperren in Privathaushalten: Empirische Ergebnisse aus der Allgemeinen Sozialberatung [Factors correlated with utility arrears and power cut-offs in Germany: Empirical evidence fr," ZEW Discussion Papers 17-061, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    household debts; over-indebtedness; poverty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:bdi:opques:qef_149_13. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bdigvit.html .

    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.