Working Paper: NBER ID: w24935
Authors: Johan Almenberg; Annamaria Lusardi; Jenny Svesderbergh; Roine Vestman
Abstract: We introduce a novel survey measure of attitude toward debt. Matching our survey results with panel data on Swedish household balance sheets from registry data, we show that our debt attitude measure helps explain individual variation in indebtedness as well as debt build-up and consumption behavior in the period 2004–2007. As an explanatory variable, debt attitude compares well to a number of other determinants of debt, including education, risk-taking, and financial literacy. We also provide evidence that debt attitude is passed down along family lines and has a cultural element.
Keywords: debt attitudes; household debt; cultural transmission; financial behavior
JEL Codes: D14; D15; D91
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| foreign-born respondents (F22) | discomfort with debt (G51) |
| negative debt attitudes (G51) | reduced borrowing (G51) |
| negative debt attitudes (G51) | lower consumption (E21) |
| parents' debt attitudes (G51) | respondents' debt attitudes (G51) |