The current thesis examined the relationships between personality and attitudes and behaviours related to insurance claims, insurance fraud, and credit use. The thesis incorporates a systematic literature review of Impulsivity-related personality traits. This review led to the identification and development of a six factor framework of Impulsivity-related traits (Impetuousness, Self-Regulation, Deferred-Gratification, Consideration of Future Consequences or CFC, Attention, and Sensation Seeking). The framework was subsequently used to classify existing “Impulsivity” measures so that coherent review of research linking “Impulsivity” to financial behaviour could be undertaken. The framework guided review revealed that four Impulsivity-related traits (Impetuousness, Self-Regulation, Deferred-Gratification, CFC) appeared to be influential across a number of financial behaviours and as a result could be considered somewhat ‘central’ to financial behaviour. Accordingly, these four traits were assessed in each of the three empirical studies. In addition, each study also included a number of outcome specific traits. These were traits likely to be of importance to the specific outcome variables in each study but were unlikely to be related to economic behaviour across multiple domains. In Study 1 (n = 377), the central Impulsivity-related traits and the outcome specific traits of Compulsivity, Oppositionality, Risk-Taking, and Sensation Seeking were assessed in relation to Attitudes Towards Insurance Claims and the number of previously submitted motor and home insurance claims. The results revealed that Deferred-Gratification, CFC and Self-Regulation accounted for 36% of the variance in Attitudes Towards Insurance Claims, whilst a combined demographic, attitude and personality model was able to correctly classify participants as previous claimants or non-claimants in 84% of cases for motor claims and 66% of cases for home claims. In Study 2 (n = 475), the central Impulsivity-related traits and the outcome specific traits of Callousness, Conduct Problems, Dishonest-Opportunism, Integrity, Machiavellianism, and Pessimism were assessed in relation to Attitudes Towards Insurance Fraud and previously submitted motor and home insurance claims. The results revealed that Dishonest-Opportunism, Consideration of Future Consequences, Pessimism, Age and Educational Attainment accounted for 58% of the variance in Attitudes Towards Insurance Claims, whilst a combined demographic, attitude and personality model was able to correctly classify participants as previous claimants or non-claimants in 78% of cases for motor claims but did not predict home claims. In Study 3 (n = 611), the central Impulsivity-related traits and the outcome specific traits of Anxiety, Compulsivity, Insecure Attachment and Narcissism, were shown to be differentially predictive of five self-report financial behaviour factors (Irresponsible Spending, Financial Planning, Emotional Spending, Impulsive Credit Use and Poor Credit Management; 30-50% variance explained), the number of credit cards and loans owned (≈22% variance explained), and debt (11-15% variance explained). Finally, the personality traits were seated within a meditational model of: Personality → Credit Acquisition and Financial Behaviour → Debt. This model was strongly supported and accounted for 26% of the variance in loan debt and 31% of the variance in credit card debt.

This study investigated the level of financial satisfaction of the family money manager in relation to socioeconomic characteristics, attitudes towards credit, and credit practices. The population was members of the USU Community Credit Union. Data were collected with a mail survey questionnaire from a random sample of 500 subjects. After multiple follow-up attempts, the response rate was 55.2 percent. The dependent variable was financial satisfaction; the independent variables were categorized into three groups: socioeconomic characteristics, credit attitudes, and credit practices. The conceptual model of this study hypothesized that there is a relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Age, education, home value, household income, and savings were positively related to financial satisfaction. Those who felt comfortable with larger amounts of credit payment were associated with higher income levels and higher satisfaction levels. People with favorable attitudes toward borrowing money to pay for houses were more likely to be satisfied with their financial conditions. Convenience credit card users were more satisfied than installment users. Higher debt repayment-to-income ratios were associated with lower levels of financial satisfaction. Respondents' feeling about their credit obligations was the most powerful predictor of financial satisfaction; people who were concerned about their credit obligations were likely to be less satisfied with their financial situations that those who were not. Concern over credit obligations was not highly related to socioeconomic characteristics or debt repayment-to- income ratio. Accordingly, the subjective assessment of credit obligations was more important in explaining financial satisfaction than the objective measurement of family debt burden such as debt repayment-to-income ratio. Fifty-two percent of the variation in financial satisfaction was accounted for by socioeconomic characteristics, credit attitudes, and credit practices. Credit practices were more powerful predictors of financial satisfaction than socioeconomic characteristics. This result illustrates the importance of credit management as a contributing factor in financial satisfaction.

[pt] Este artigo analisa o uso de crédito durante a pandemia Covid-19 no contexto de um programa de transferência de renda. Sob uma abordagem Diferença em Diferenças, eu mostro evidências causais de como a implementação de um programa de transferência de renda impactou os padrões de uso de crédito da população, usando um conjunto combinado de microdados: SISFOH (um sistema de focalização familiar), a pesquisa domiciliar nacional e o registro de crédito para o Perú. Explorando uma descontinuidade na regra de concessão de renda emergencial à população mais pobre, mostro que os indivíduos que receberam um subsídio monetário aumentaram seu total de empréstimos no sistema financeiro, ao contrário daqueles que não o fizeram. Isso é preocupante, pois também se apresenta um aumento nas taxas de juros e dias de atraso. Além disso, também exploro algumas dimensões da heterogeneidade populacional (educação, idade, gênero, informalidade, entre outras), encontrando um impacto diferenciado de acordo com certas características dos indivíduos. Fiz um esforço especial na análise da informalidade, pois, mesmo na ausência de uma identificação exógena, essa variável apresenta resultados significativos e passa em certos testes de identificação. / [en] This paper analyzes the use of credit during the Covid-19 pandemic in the context of a cash transfer program. Under a Difference-in-Differences approach, I show causal evidence of how the implementation of a cash transfer program impacted the population s credit use patterns, using a combined set of microdata: SISFOH (a household targeting system), the national household survey, and the credit register for Peru. Exploring a discontinuity in the rule for granting emergency income to the poorest population, I show that individuals who received a monetary subsidy increased their total lending in the financial system, in contrast to those individuals who did not. This is worrisome as it is also presented an increase in the interest rates and days of arrears. Furthermore, I also explore some dimensions of population heterogeneity (education, age, gender, informality, among others), finding a differentiated impact according to certain characteristics of individuals. I put a special effort into the informality analysis since, even in the absence of an exogenous identification, this variable presents significant results and passes certain tests of identification.