The thesis titled "Analysis of the APRC for consumer loans" begins with basic economic knowledge of the consumer loans, mutual context and legal background. Key emphasis is placed on the pointer annual percentage rate of charge. Analyzed loans are selected from wide range of bank and non-bank institutions that meet the specified parameters. For each loan there is comparison of calculated and actual values presented in the APRC. Next part of focused on overall comparison of the obtained results. Last section provides theoretical recommendations for future development.

The Master's thesis deals with the indebtedness of Czech households. The thesis is divided into theoretical and analytical-practical part. The theoretical part deals with the home economic activities and lending. In the analytical-practical part the author describes the evolution and structure of loans provided to households between 1993 and 2014. The debt ratio is appraisaled in relation to bank deposits, net disposable household income, GDP, national debt and compared with households in the EU. In final the author runs to the conclusion that the current level of debt of households is not any problem for the economics and that there is not any danger of the rapid growth of indebtedness nowadays. Ability to repay debts is not too high as evidenced by the increasing number of executions and personal bankruptcies. The cause of difficulties is the low financial literacy of citizens and irresponsible approach to lending for both the creditor and debtor side.

We investigate the effects of house- and condominium prices on a household's debt-to-income based on the type of municipality. With data from 2010-2017 for all of Sweden's municipalities we use a panel data regression and find that both house- and condominium price has a significant effect on debt-to-income with control variables of age, age! and education added to the model. The difference in effect on debt-to-income, depending on the type of the municipality is most significant between rural and metropolitan when we investigate condominium prices and between rural and urban when we investigate house prices meaning that there is a difference in effect depending on the type of the municipality. We determine that the effect of condominium price is highest for metropolitan, and the effect of house price is highest for urban.

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As emerging market economies gain increasing influence and importance in the global economy, any development with a potentially destabilizing effect on the economic performance on such countries should be carefully monitored. This paper examines one particular development: the rise of consumer debt. Through the case studies of Turkey, China, and Brazil, this paper seeks to analyze the relationship between an increase in consumer debt and a country's GDP growth in emerging markets and how a detrimental relationship could severely impact the international economy at large.

Since the 1980s, household debt has been increasing rapidly. The high level of household indebtedness has been accompanied by a high household bankruptcy rate. My research attempts to provide a better understanding of the theoretical mechanisms behind these credit market and bankruptcy statistics. One of the purposes of Chapter 7 bankruptcy law is to improve debtors' work incentives by giving them a ``fresh start''. Chapter 13 bankruptcy, on the other hand, prescribes a repayment plan that garnishes future wages from debtors to repay creditors, which acts like a wage tax in standard models. In the first chapter, I ask the question ``How much does a fresh start increase labor supply by improving work incentives?'' Because the bankruptcy decision is endogenous, Chapter 7 filers tend to have less earnings and more debt than average individuals. Estimation of the change in labor supply as a consequence of the bankruptcy treatment must therefore take into account selection effects which is complicated by the interdependence of labor and credit market decisions. To answer my question quantitatively, I construct a dynamic partial equilibrium job search model with both bankruptcy choices which allows direct assessment of counterfactual outcomes. Competitive financial intermediaries offer a menu of loan sizes and interest rates that make zero profits. The model predicts that in the short run, a fresh start on average increases the labor supply of Chapter 7 bankruptcy filers by 3.5% over repayment and 3.4% over Chapter 13 bankruptcy. the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) dictates that adverse events such as a Chapter 7 bankruptcy must be removed from an individual's credit record after ten years. The intent of the law is to provide partial consumption insurance by giving an individual a fresh start. However, the law obviously weakens incentives not to default, which can result in higher interest rates that in turn reduce intertemporal insurance. Because of this tradeoff, it is unclear what is the optimal length of time that an adverse event should be on an individual's credit record. In the second chapter, I assess the welfare consequences of varying the length of time that adverse events can be on one's credit record. We calibrate the model to US data where the exclusion parameter is for ten years. Then I run a counterfactual to find the length that maximizes ex-ante welfare. I find that the optimal length is much lower, specifically 2.5 years, than the current regulation and that the consumption equivalent welfare gain (slightly over 1%) of such a policy change is large. In the third chapter, I explore how such credit checks (information on observable credit market actions) might help with incentives in labor market when there is a monopolistic employer. According to a Survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (2010), 25% of human resource representatives interviewed in 1998 indicated that the companies they worked for ran credit checks on potential employees while the fraction increased to 43% in 2004 and 60% in 2009. Ever since Holmstrom (1979), we've known that wage contracts can be designed to improve incentives for workers. I show by means of example that if the employer can have wage contracts contingent upon the asset choice of employees, the profit may be increased. However, some employees may be worse off. We may then assess the welfare consequences of a law (the Equal Employment for All Act (H.R. 3149)) prohibiting the use of credit information in employment decisions which currently sits before Congress. / text

De svenska hushållens skuldsättning har ökat markant sedan 1980-talet och är idag på rekordhöga nivåer. Utifrån detta har frågor kring skuldsättningsnivåns hållbarhet, dess makroekonomiska konsekvenser och bakomliggande faktorer, blivit allt vanligare. Tidigare studier på området visar på brister i standardteorin för analys av hushållens skuldsättning, livscykelhypotesen, då hänsyn inte tas till kreditrestriktioner eller människors oförmåga till helt rationellt handlande. En alternativ analysram fick förnyad uppmärksamhet i samband med finanskrisen i USA 2008 – Hyman Minskys hypotes om finansiell instabilitet – vilken inkorporerar ett fokus på spekulation på kredit- och tillgångsmarknader som förklaring till skuldsättning. Den här uppsatsen undersöker om Minskys hypotes kan appliceras på de svenska hushållen och förklara förändringen i skuldsättning sedan 1980-talet, genom en linjär regressionsmodell på aggregerad data för tidsperioden 1980 till 2012. Resultaten tyder på att den ökade skuldsättningen i stor utsträckning kan förklaras utifrån Minsky hypotes, där en avreglerad kreditmarknad och fallande räntenivåer verkar ha lett till en ökad spekulation i reala tillgångar, ökat risktagande hos både långivare och låntagare och därmed en ökad skuldsättning. / The debt level of Swedish households has increased noticeably since the 1980’s and is today at a record high level. This has given rise to questions regarding the sustainability of the debt level, its macroeconomic implications and driving factors. Previous studies on the subject show deficiencies in the standard theory for analyzing household debt, the life-cycle hypothesis, due to lack of consideration in the theory of credit restrictions and humans’ inability to act completely rationally. An alternative framework for analysis received renewed attention in connection with the financial crisis in the U.S. in 2008 – Hyman Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis – incorporating speculation in credit and asset markets as explanations for indebtness. This thesis investigates whether Minky’s hypothesis can be applied on Swedish households and explain the change in debt levels since the 1980’s, through a linear regression model, using aggregate data for the period 1980 to 2012. The results of the thesis indicate that the increased debt level to a large extent can be explained by Minsky’s hypothesis, where a de-regulated credit market and falling interest rates seem to have caused increased speculation in real assets, increased risk-taking by both debtors and creditors and thus an increased level of household debt.

This study explores the relationship between income inequality and household indebtedness using panel data on 17 OECD-countries over the time period 1995-2015. Motivated by relative income theory of consumption and previous empirical research we anticipate a non-monotonic relationship between changes in household debt and income inequality (measured by the Gini- coefficient), as dynamics between different groups of households in the income spread is expected to vary at different levels of inequality. Carrying out the empirical analysis we find notable indications of an inverse U-shape relationship between inequality levels and household borrowing. We locate an estimated turning point at a Gini-value of 28.84, which indicates a positive marginal effect on household borrowing as inequality grows from levels below this point, turning negative as inequality increases further. This suggests that as income inequality grows from relatively low levels households increase their rate of borrowing, while at higher levels of inequality households decrease their borrowing rate in response to growing income disparities. Results hold under a random effects model and a pooled OLS model, but fail to prove significant in the stricter fixed effects model, why we cannot draw any definitive conclusions about the magnitude of the effect. Nevertheless, the findings of further complimentary estimations lend credence to our hypothesis. Benefits and limitations of our data and empirical methods are comprehensively discussed, as well as the theoretical mechanisms explaining the relationship. Indicative but in the end inconclusive results leaves ample opportunity for further investigations with more advanced empirical methods. / <p>This bachelor thesis was awarded the highest grade, VG.</p>

The high debt-to-income ratios and the low financial literacy levels among Canadian immigrants are hindering public welfare, macroeconomic policies, and economic growth. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore why immigrants to Lloydminster, Canada possess high debt-to-income ratios in their financial portfolios by examining pertinent themes and patterns between their debt profiles and their financial literacy levels. The life cycle hypothesis, rational choice theory, and bounded rationality theory grounded the study. Data collection from the purposeful sample included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 13 adult immigrants and a focus group discussion with 6 adult immigrants, all of whom lived, worked, or owned a business in the city of Lloydminster. The application of Yin's 5-step data analytic procedure revealed key findings that described the pattern between immigrants' debt profiles and their financial literacy levels including environmental curiosity, excellent credit score, family survival, rational decision making, social institutions, economic institutions, pressure impacting financial decisions, credit facility impacting financial decisions, emotions impacting financial decisions, and discount deals impacting financial decisions. Immigrants to Canada can utilize the findings from this study to develop their financial literacy levels and stay committed to making sensible financial decisions, thus triggering positive social change. Sound spending habits could have positive implications for Canada's Gross Domestic Product growth and immigrants' wellbeing.