Consumer credit has become a common source of finance for households, inevitable for the majority of them. Developments of credit markets that emerged as a result of economic hardship in 2008-2009, leads to the high relevance of the scientific researches on the topic. Traditional consumer loans provided by banks or credit unions are supplemented by the new debt instruments. The most popular and well known ones are payday loans (small amount, short term and high cost loans), having the high credit price (in APR terms) and are easily accessible. Because of such rapid growth and popularity of payday loans among socially vulnerable borrowers, these transactions became the object of regulation. The regulator here faces a very complex task - to balance the interests of the payday loan transaction parties (borrower and lender) throughout the process of the transaction. In the Baltic States, including Lithuania, payday lending transactions and their regulation is a well underexplored field of scientific research. Analysis of the scientific literature has revealed that there is a general disagreement on whether payday loans benefit or harm borrowers? Usually studies does not provide complete answer on how to regulate payday lending transactions in order to ensure access to credit and balance the interests of creditors and debtors. No one has offered a model of payday lending transactions regulation yet. Moreover, there is no generally established view on the balance of borrowers’ and... [to full text] / Vartojimo kreditavimas yra įprastas namų ūkių poreikių finansavimo šaltinis, neišvengiamas daugeliui jų. Kreditavimo rinkos pokyčiai, atsiradę ekonomikos sunkmečio laikotarpiu 2008-2009 metais, lemia ypatingai didelį šios tematikos mokslinių tyrimų aktualumą. Tradicines bankų ar kredito unijų teikiamas vartojimo paskolas papildė nauji skolinimo instrumentai, tarp kurių populiarūs ir žinomi – mažieji vartojimo kreditai, pasižymintys aukšta palūkanų norma ir lengvu prieinamumu. Dėl mažųjų vartojimo kreditų populiarumo tarp socialiai pažeidžiamų asmenų ir augimo, šie sandoriai tapo reguliavimo objektu. Reguliuotojui čia kyla sudėtingas uždavinys subalansuoti reguliavimo objekto – mažojo vartojimo kreditavimo sandorio šalių (skolininko ir kreditoriaus) interesus šio sandorio proceso metu. Baltijos šalyse, įskaitant ir Lietuvoje, mažojo vartojimo kreditavimo sandoriai ir jų reguliavimas yra visiškai mokslininkų netyrinėtas reiškinys.Mokslinės literatūros analizė parodė, kad tyrėjai nesutaria ar visumoj mažieji vartojimo kreditai labiau padeda vartotojams, ar yra jiems labiau žalingi. Dažnai moksliniai tyrimai neatsako į klausimą - kaip reguliuoti mažojo vartojimo kreditavimo sandorius, kad būtų užtikrintas kredito prieinamumas ir subalansuota skolininko bei kreditorių interesų apsauga. Mokslinėje literatūroje nėra pasiūlyto mažojo vartojimo kreditavimo sandorių reguliavimo modelio, nėra nusistovėjusio požiūrio į priešingų skolininko ir kreditorių interesų balansavimą ar mažojo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Vartojimo kreditavimas yra įprastas namų ūkių poreikių finansavimo šaltinis, neišvengiamas daugeliui jų. Kreditavimo rinkos pokyčiai, atsiradę ekonomikos sunkmečio laikotarpiu 2008-2009 metais, lemia ypatingai didelį šios tematikos mokslinių tyrimų aktualumą. Tradicines bankų ar kredito unijų teikiamas vartojimo paskolas papildė nauji skolinimo instrumentai, tarp kurių populiarūs ir žinomi – mažieji vartojimo kreditai, pasižymintys aukšta palūkanų norma ir lengvu prieinamumu. Dėl mažųjų vartojimo kreditų populiarumo tarp socialiai pažeidžiamų asmenų ir augimo, šie sandoriai tapo reguliavimo objektu. Reguliuotojui čia kyla sudėtingas uždavinys subalansuoti reguliavimo objekto – mažojo vartojimo kreditavimo sandorio šalių (skolininko ir kreditoriaus) interesus šio sandorio proceso metu. Baltijos šalyse, įskaitant ir Lietuvoje, mažojo vartojimo kreditavimo sandoriai ir jų reguliavimas yra visiškai mokslininkų netyrinėtas reiškinys.Mokslinės literatūros analizė parodė, kad tyrėjai nesutaria ar visumoj mažieji vartojimo kreditai labiau padeda vartotojams, ar yra jiems labiau žalingi. Dažnai moksliniai tyrimai neatsako į klausimą - kaip reguliuoti mažojo vartojimo kreditavimo sandorius, kad būtų užtikrintas kredito prieinamumas ir subalansuota skolininko bei kreditorių interesų apsauga. Mokslinėje literatūroje nėra pasiūlyto mažojo vartojimo kreditavimo sandorių reguliavimo modelio, nėra nusistovėjusio požiūrio į priešingų skolininko ir kreditorių interesų balansavimą ar mažojo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Consumer credit has become a common source of finance for households, inevitable for the majority of them. Developments of credit markets that emerged as a result of economic hardship in 2008-2009, leads to the high relevance of the scientific researches on the topic. Traditional consumer loans provided by banks or credit unions are supplemented by the new debt instruments. The most popular and well known ones are payday loans (small amount, short term and high cost loans), having the high credit price (in APR terms) and are easily accessible. Because of such rapid growth and popularity of payday loans among socially vulnerable borrowers, these transactions became the object of regulation. The regulator here faces a very complex task - to balance the interests of the payday loan transaction parties (borrower and lender) throughout the process of the transaction. In the Baltic States, including Lithuania, payday lending transactions and their regulation is a well underexplored field of scientific research. Analysis of the scientific literature has revealed that there is a general disagreement on whether payday loans benefit or harm borrowers? Usually studies does not provide complete answer on how to regulate payday lending transactions in order to ensure access to credit and balance the interests of creditors and debtors. No one has offered a model of payday lending transactions regulation yet. Moreover, there is no generally established view on the balance of borrowers’ and... [to full text]

The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding and awareness of what the pathways into and out of debt problems can look like, why people get into bad debt situations, how problems are handled and how they are perceived. The empirical data is based on semi-structured narrative interviews with 32 people who can relate to a debt settlement in three ways, either by just having applied for a debt settlement, finding themselves in the midst of a debt settlement or being debt-free since a few years back. The material is analyzed in terms relating to the processes, strategies and impact factors surrounding debt problems and debt settlements. Debt problems can either happen slowly and gradually or arise suddenly and unexpectedly. The causes may be an interaction between individual and structural factors. Both coping strategies and influencing factors can change over time and depend on where in the debt process one is. The results show that the coping strategies vary from active to passive, from open to closed, where the determining factors are mainly how one was treated/ received, one's health, age, sense of shame and guilt, social relationships, as well as the causes of debt.  The results show how there is interplay between individual and structural factors in terms of causes, but also in the strategies and approaches expressed. The coping strategies are influenced and changed with the time scale over the debt process. Women have a risk to a greater extent than men to suffer from debt problems without having spent any money, but instead by acting as co-signer or guarantor. The conclusion is that debt problems do not just affect a certain group of individuals, but that anyone can in principle be affected by excessive debt. What becomes clear is that there is not only one but several ways into and out of debt problems in which both individual and structural factors are important. Although there is a way out of excessive debt problems through debt relief law, results show that the solution extends over time and has far-reaching consequences for both individuals and society.

Gratitude and indebtedness have been treated as similar constructs that occur in social exchange, but little work has examined how these constructs are independent from each other. Relatedly, how a person evaluates the components of a social exchange – the benefactor and benefit – can vary. Two exploratory studies examined affective, cognitive and behavioral measurement during a social exchange to test whether they were associated with gratitude and indebtedness. Participants completed a distribution game for which they gave and received tickets for a raffle with a fictitious partner. Study 1 (N=34) findings indicated that gratitude was associated with positive affect, but that positive affect was a better predictor of exchange behavior. Indebtedness was more closely associated with cognition and was not a significant predictor of exchange behavior. Positive affect and positive thought were associated with a positive attitude toward the exchange partner, whereas positive thought alone was associated with a positive attitude toward the benefit (i.e., raffle tickets). Study 2 (N=60) used a between-subjects variable to see if a manipulation involving the benefit affected responses. Three conditions were used: gratitude, indebtedness, or control. Participants in the gratitude and indebtedness conditions evaluated the partner and the tickets more positively compared to a control condition. Gratitude is directly associated with positive affect and inversely associated with negative cognition, whereas indebtedness is directly associated with positive affect across the three conditions. Three components of attitude were associated with the overall evaluation of the benefactor across conditions. In contrast, affect and cognition alone provided the best model for predicting overall evaluation of the benefit. Despite some of the limitations of this study (e.g., sample size), preliminary evidence suggests associations between affective and cognitive components and social exchange behavior. Limitations stemming from partial online data collection are described and discussed.

This thesis studies interconnections between macroeconomic environment and non-performing loans ratio (NPL) of banking loans provided to households in the Czech Republic in years 2005-2014. This analysis serves as tool for macroprudential policy to detect potential risks before negative consequences occur. The thesis examines mutual relations between households' non-performing loans ratio and variables capturing macroeconomic environment such as GDP growth, unemployment rate, CPI, interest rate and exchange rate. For purposes of this analysis, vector autoregressive approach and vector error correction model are applied. Based on impulse response analysis, most of expected relations are confirmed. Generally, favorable macroeconomic conditions increase payback capacity of households and reduce share of non-performing loans. According to forecast variance decomposition, increase in unemployment rate is the most serious threat for financial stability of the country from the perspective of non-performing rate increase. JEL Classification C32, C52, E21, G21 Keywords Households, indebtedness, financial stability, non-performing loans, Czech Republic, VAR, VECM Author's e-mail h.kroupa@seznam.cz Supervisor's e-mail seidler@email.cz

[pt] O principal objetivo da tese foi examinar a relação do conhecimento financeiro com as decisões financeiras pessoais. Para atingir este objetivo foram elaborados três ensaios, sendo o primeiro um exame da relação entre o conhecimento financeiro e a tolerância ao risco. O segundo ensaio verificou a relação do conhecimento financeiro com as decisões de endividamento, enquanto o terceiro investigou como as decisões de investimento são afetadas por esse conhecimento. Foram propostas medidas para avaliar os níveis de conhecimento financeiro básico, de crédito e de investimento, adaptadas a partir da revisão da literatura para o contexto de produtos financeiros brasileiros. Com base nos resultados da pesquisa, realizada com 467 jovens universitários, foram propostos os índices de conhecimento financeiro básico, de crédito e de investimento, usados para verificar a relação do conhecimento financeiro com a tolerância ao risco e com as decisões de endividamento e investimento. Foram estabelecidos modelos econométricos para testar as hipóteses de pesquisa. O grupo estudado apresentou bom nível de conhecimento financeiro, sendo a maior dificuldade relacionada ao conceito dos juros compostos. A compreensão das questões relativas a inflação e ilusão monetária apresentaram bons resultados, o que pode ser atribuído à experiência inflacionária vivida no país. Os resultados mostraram que existe relação entre o conhecimento financeiro e a tolerância ao risco, sugerindo que pessoas com maior conhecimento financeiro seriam mais propensas a escolher produtos financeiros de maior risco. Nos demais ensaios observou-se também relação entre conhecimento financeiro e as decisões financeiras. No que se refere ao uso do crédito, foram encontradas evidências de que pessoas com maiores níveis de conhecimento financeiro de crédito tendem a fazer uso de produtos de crédito menos onerosos. Por outro lado, na avaliação dos investimentos, o estudo revelou que os indivíduos que possuem menor grau de menor conhecimento financeiro são aqueles que não fazem investimentos.Utilizando a técnica de análise de cluster promoveu-se o agrupamento dos sujeitos em categorias de endividamento e de investimento, que em seguida foram analisadas em conjunto com as características sociodemográficas de cada grupo. Nesta análise verificou-se que os mais jovens praticamente não fazem uso de operações de crédito e usam basicamente o cartão de crédito. Estes são também os que fazem menos investimentos.Os resultados deste estudo exploratório trazem importantes contribuições para agenda de programas de educação financeira, identificando grupos mais expostos às operações de crédito mais onerosas, bem como grupos menos preparados para as incertezas financeiras do futuro. As evidências obtidas poderão ser aplicadas em políticas públicas voltadas para melhoria nos padrões de conhecimento financeiroe para melhor utilização dos produtos e serviços financeiros. / [en] The main purpose of the thesis was to assess the relation between financial knowledge and personal financial decisions. So as to achieve such goal, three essays were carried out: the first one addressed the relation between financial knowledge and risk tolerance, while the second analyzed the relation between financial knowledge and debt decisions and the third focused on investment decisions.In order to evaluate the financial knowledge, we proposed some measurements of knowledge on basic financial concepts, on credit and investments, which were extracted from a literature review and adapted to the context of Brazilian financial products. According to the results from a research conducted with 467 young university students, some rates of knowledge on basic financial concepts, on credit and investments were suggested, so as to verify the relation between financial knowledge, risk tolerance and both debt and investment decisions. Some econometric models were set forth to test the hypothesis of such research. The studied group presented a good level of financial knowledge, and the most significant difficulty faced by these individuals was related to compound interests. In answer to questions about inflation and monetary illusion, they showed good results, which may be attributed to the recent inflationary experience lived within the country.The results showed a relation between financial knowledge and risk tolerance, thus suggesting that individuals with higher financial knowledge would be more inclined to opt for higher-risk financial products. The other essays also disclosed a relation between financial knowledge and financial decisions. As refers to the use of credits, some evidences indicate that individuals with higher financial knowledge on credit tend to make use of less onerous credit products. Besides, in relation to investments, we found that individuals with low financial knowledge are those who less likely to invest in financial products.By using the cluster analysis method, we grouped the studied individuals within categories relating to indebtedness and investment, which were subsequently assessed in the light of social and demographic characteristics of each group. Upon such analysis, we verified that the youngest individuals practically refrain from making use of credit operations, and basically use credit cards. They are also the ones who make less investment.The results from such exploratory study bring material contributions to the agenda of financial education programs, as they identified groups which are more exposed to high-cost borrowing, as well as groups which are less prepared to future financial uncertainties. The evidences hereby disclosed may be applied to public policies aimed at the improvement of financial knowledge standards, as well as at a better use of financial products and services.

O endividamento excessivo dos indivíduos e das famílias é um fenômeno recente que tem sua origem na necessidade da economia de mercado conferir poder aquisitivo imediato a seu principal agente econômico: o consumidor. Desde o final do século XX, o crédito se tornou o motor propulsor da sociedade de consumo, de maneira que o endividamento se tornou uma situação desejada, mas que, por outro lado, apresenta riscos aos consumidores, que ficaram sujeitos ao superendividamento. A democratização do crédito chegou ao Brasil apenas no século XXI, apresentando-se como a principal ameaça à integridade financeira do consumidor. O incentivo governamental para tornar o crédito mais acessível e a criação de novos instrumentos de crédito foram os principais fatores responsáveis pela guinada do crédito ao consumo. Contudo, a ausência de uma rede eficaz de proteção ao consumidor pode trazer graves problemas sociais e a violação de direitos fundamentais dos tomadores de crédito. Esse cenário já se verificou em muitos países que tiveram a sua revolução do crédito ao consumo, gerando uma multidão de superendividados passivos, que passou a viver à margem da sociedade, ocasionando um forte problema de exclusão social. Nesses países, que tem a França como exemplo, foi adotada uma lei específica para a prevenção e tratamento do sobreendividamento, reconhecendo-se que essa situação não é prejudicial apenas para o consumidor, mas também para todo o mercado de consumo, podendo dar origem a uma grave crise financeira generalizada. No Brasil não existe uma lei específica para o tratamento das situações de sobreendividamento, de forma a proporcionar a recuperação financeira global do consumidor; contudo, o ordenamento jurídico brasileiro contém diversas normas, por meio das quais incidem os direitos fundamentais da pessoa humana, que são capazes de tutelar os direitos dos consumidores de crédito, inclusive nas situações de superendividamento. Este trabalho pretende, num primeiro momento, demonstrar a necessidade de uma lei específica para o tratamento global da situação do consumidor superendividado, e, num segundo momento, desenvolver a tutela jurídica de lege lata para a proteção do consumidor de crédito em geral e para a solução dos casos de endividamento excessivo em que esteja ameaçado o núcleo dos direitos fundamentais decorrentes da dignidade da pessoa humana. / The over-indebtedness of households is a recent phenomenon which has its origins in the need of market economies to confer purchasing power to its main economic agent: the consumer. Since the end of the 20th Century, credit has become the main propeller of consumer societies, making indebtedness a desirable situation. Such a situation, though, presents risks to consumers, who became subjected to over-indebtedness. The credit democratization has reached Brazil only in the 21st Century, presenting itself as the main threat to the consumers financial integrity. The governmental incentive to make credit affordable and the creation of new instruments of credit were the main factors responsible for the growth of consumer credit. However, the lack of an effective consumer protection net may bring about serious social problems and the violation of borrowers fundamental rights. This context took place in many countries where the credit revolution has happened generating a multitude of passive over-indebted people, which are living on the margins of society, causing a serious problem of social exclusion. In these countries, as France for example, a specific law was adopted for the prevention and handling of over-indebtedness, in recognition that this situation is prejudicial not only to the consumer, but also to the whole market, being able to cause even a severe generalized financial crisis. Brazil doesnt have a specific bankruptcy law to provide financial rehabilitation for the over-indebted consumer. However, Brazilian law has many rules through which fundamental rights are applied providing consumers judicial protection, including situations of over-indebtedness. This essay intends, firstly, to demonstrate the necessity of a specific bankruptcy law for the global handling of over-indebtedness situations and, secondly, to develop the judicial treatment de lege lata for the protection of the consumer credit in general and for over-indebtedness situations where the core of fundamental rights is threatened.

This work deals with the debt of municipalities. The debt of municipalities is in the Czech Republic regulated and also monitored. Monitoring of the municipal debt is carried out by the Ministry of Finance, which uses system of information and monitoring indicators (SIMU). Evaluation, criticism and modification of the SIMU is the main output of this work. A new modified SIMU was created according to the evaluation of this system, and then it has been tested on Kutná Hora. The debt is also considered from the perspective of the size of the municipalities. The hypothesis of an influence of the municipality size (the size category according to CNB) on the amount of the municipal debt per capita in the period 2006 to 2010 was verified by statistical method called ANOVA. At the same time it was confirmed in three surveyed periods that although the large municipalities have a greater total value of the debt, in per capita are more indebted smaller communities.

Objectives: To evaluate the extent to which students’ personal finance perceptions, projected student loan indebtedness, and demographic characteristics predict post-PharmD career intentions. Methods: Students at three pharmacy colleges completed a 31-item survey instrument that assessed personal finance perceptions, self-efficacy beliefs, anticipated student loan debt upon graduation, postgraduate intentions, anticipated practice setting upon graduation, and demographic characteristics. Logistic regression models were used to examine the extent to which personal finance perceptions, student loan indebtedness, and demographic characteristics predicted postgraduate intentions and anticipated practice setting. Results: A total of 763 usable responses were obtained (response rate=90.3%). Students reported an anticipated personal student loan debt mean at graduation of $162,747±87,093 and an estimated 7.4±5.8 years to pay off non-mortgage debt post-graduation. Fifty-three percent of students reported planning to practice in a community pharmacy setting post-graduation, and 54% indicated intentions to enter practice directly. Student loan indebtedness was not a significant predictor of planning to pursue postgraduate training. There was a significant association between debt influence and pressure perceptions and pursuance of postgraduate training (aOR=0.78;p=0.009). The odds of indicating hospital (vs. chain community) pharmacy as the anticipated setting decreased 36% with every 1-point increase in debt influence and pressure perceptions (aOR=0.64;p<0.001 Conclusions: Perceived debt pressure and influence predicted intention to enter practice directly (vs. pursuing postgraduate training) and selection of chain community pharmacy (vs. hospital pharmacy). Student loan indebtedness was not a significant predictor of postgraduate training intentions. Interventions that equip students to manage pressure associated with student loan debt should be explored.

O presente estudo de natureza bibliográfica, qualitativa e analítica apoiou-se na transdisciplinaridade da Ecologia Humana com outras áreas do conhecimento e objetivou evidenciar a influência contemporânea de grandes corporações globais no padrão de consumo, no endividamento das pessoas, no empobrecimento das instituições, enfraquecimento dos Estados Nacionais e nas urgentes questões ambientais. Foram entrelaçadas perspectivas teóricas multidisciplinares sobre consumo, endividamento e questões ambientais, demonstrando a consolidação da obsolescência como estratégia capitalista para impulsionar vendas de eletrodomésticos e automóveis, têxtil e moda, eletrônicos e softwares, com consequente intensificação de impactos no ambiente pelo extrativismo de recursos naturais, contaminação da água, solo e ar, bem como a geração de lixo. Evidenciou-se o cenário em que o ganho com aplicações financeiras é frequentemente superior ao ganho com atividades produtivas, o capital improdutivo, a consolidação do poder econômico de grandes conglomerados globais e sua influência sobre as políticas públicas, de ensino, pesquisa e sobre o sistema judiciário. A concentração de riquezas e poder econômico das grandes corporações globais vêm afetando a economia mundial, o endividamento e empobrecimento das instituições, agravando a desigualdade social, dificultando a implementação de programas de educação, cumprimento de acordos mundiais e fiscalizações ambientais. A interdisciplinaridade promovida pela Economia da Informação, adoção de princípios da Economia Circular, a preocupação generativa da geração Y com o mundo, ambiente e consumo, a inventividade humana, a conectividade global, a convergência das tecnologias digitais, físicas e biológicas, tratadas neste trabalho, podem contribuir para reverter o quadro de degradação ambiental. Para enfrentar os desafios globais é necessário integrar aquilo que é biologicamente necessário, social e culturalmente desejado com o que é ecologicamente possível. O ser humano é o único com capacidade de protestar e reverter o quadro de degradação ambiental ao qual vem se adaptando nas últimas décadas. Sua capacidade de adaptação em promover as mudanças necessárias pode reconstruir padrões de direitos, deveres e valores humanos e adotar novas formas de pensar, sentir, agir e comportar-se. / This bibliographic, qualitative and analytical study was based on the transdisciplinarity of Human Ecology with other areas of knowledge and aimed to highlight the contemporary influence of large global corporations on the pattern of consumption, on people\'s indebtedness, on the impoverishment of institutions, on the weakening of human resources, National States and urgent environmental issues. Several theoretical perspectives on consumption, debt and environmental issues were intertwined, demonstrating the consolidation of obsolescence as a capitalist strategy to boost sales of appliances and automobiles, textiles and fashion, electronics and software, intensifying impacts on the environment through the extraction of natural resources, water contamination, soil and air, as well as waste generation. The scenario showed that the gain on financial investments is often greater than the gain on productive activities, unproductive capital, the consolidation of the economic power of large global conglomerates and their influence on public policies, education, research and the judiciary system. The concentration of wealth and economic power of large global corporations has been affecting the world economy, aggravating social inequality, making it difficult to implement education programs, comply with agreements and environmental inspections. The interdisciplinarity promoted by the Information Economy, adoption of Circular Economy principles, Generative concern of Y generation with the world, environment and consumption, human inventiveness, global connectivity, convergence of digital, physical and biological technologies can all contribute to reversing the picture of environmental degradation. Meeting global challenges requires integrating what is biologically necessary, socially and culturally desired with what is ecologically possible. The human being is the only one capable of protesting and reversing the picture of environmental degradation to which he has been adapting in recent decades. Their ability to adapt to change can rebuild human rights, duties, and values to adopt new ways of thinking, feeling, acting, and behaving.