How Credit Access Has Changed Over Time for U.S. Households

The financial industry made a number of efforts throughout the 1990s to provide additional borrowing opportunities to households traditionally constrained by the credit markets. Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), this study investigates the degree to which household liquidity con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer affairs 2003-12, Vol.37 (2), p.231-255
Main Author: LYONS, ANGELA C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Borrowing
Consumer credit
Consumption
Credit
Credit cards
Debt (Financial)
Economic conditions
Evidence
Financial institutions
Financial services
Households
Hypotheses
Installment credit
Lines of credit
Liquidity
Literature Reviews
Low income groups
Mathematical models
Men
Mortgage loans
Opportunities
Personal debt
Profitability
Profits
Services
Single women
Statistical analysis
Statistics
Studies
Weighted averages
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Description
Summary:The financial industry made a number of efforts throughout the 1990s to provide additional borrowing opportunities to households traditionally constrained by the credit markets. Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), this study investigates the degree to which household liquidity constraints relaxed between 1983 and 1998. The gap between actual and desired borrowing is estimated. The findings indicate that the ability of all households to obtain their desired debt levels increased after 1983 and most dramatically between 1992 and 1998. The findings hold true across all households regardless of permanent earnings, age, gender, or race. Those experiencing the greatest gains in credit access were black households and households with low permanent earnings.
ISSN:0022-0078
1745-6606
DOI:10.1111/j.1745-6606.2003.tb00452.x