Investigation on Consumer Credit Behavior and the Ability to Make Ends Meet
Time: Wed 2025-04-02 13.00
Location: H1, Teknikringen 33, Stockholm
Video link: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/62253015609
Language: English
Subject area: Business Studies
Doctoral student: Hsu-Chi Weng , Fastighetsföretagande och finansiella system
Opponent: Professor Ai Jun Hou, Stockholm University
Supervisor: Professor Kent Eriksson, Fastighetsföretagande och finansiella system; Docent Cecilia Hermansson, Fastighetsekonomi och finans; Universitetslektor Mark Sanctuary, Redovisning, finansiering, nationalekonomi och organisation
QC 20250312
Abstract
This thesis aims to enhance the understanding of individuals’ financial personality traits in consumer credit usage and the factors influencing their ability to make ends meet, contributing to improved overall financial well-being. A combination of subjective survey data and objective bank register data is analyzed by econometric methods to fulfill research aims. The first paper sought to explore the moderate effects of financial personality traits, including risk tolerance, financial confidence, and self-control, between the intention to use consumer credit and the consumer credit used volume. The results show that, higher risk tolerance and higher financial confidence both relate to taking on more consumer credit while self-control has no moderate effect on the relationship between behavioral intention and consumer credit behavior. We also find that men who have the intention to use consumer credit and perceive themselves to have better financial knowledge purchase more with consumer credit, and that better self-control on financial activities mitigates the use of consumer credit for higher-income individuals. The second paper investigated the antecedents of making ends meet based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. We identify the effects of saving intention and credit use intention on the possibility of making ends meet. We discovered that financial learning from family and bank institutions has a distinct impact on the intention to save and borrow. These findings are informative for policymakers and financial institutions seeking to improve financially sustainable behaviors.