Mortgage indebtedness and household financial distress

Arbeitspapier

Using comparable survey data from twelve European countries from 1994 to 2001 we investigate households’ attitudes towards mortgage indebtedness. We find that a given debt burden creates much higher distress in countries with fewer mortgage holders relative to countries where a significant part of households uses mortgage debt. This effect is net of ppp-adjusted income levels, various socioeconomic characteristics, housing traits, country-specific constant terms, and household unobserved heterogeneity. We show that households evaluate their own debt burden partly in comparison with the debt position of their peer group and in a way consistent with social stigma considerations which lessen in significance as markets expand.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ECB Working Paper ; No. 1156

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis ; Household Saving; Personal Finance ; Banks; Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
• Subject: credit markets ; financial distress ; Household finance ; Mortgage debt ; peer effects ; Hypothek ; Private Verschuldung ; Liquiditätsbeschränkung ; Soziale Beziehungen ; Kreditmarkt ; Marktliquidität ; Europa

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Georgarakos, Dimitris ; Lojschová, Adriana ; Ward-Warmedinger, Melanie
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): European Central Bank (ECB)
• (where): Frankfurt a. M.
• (when): 2010

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/153590
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:46 AM CET