Self-Control, Financial Literacy and Consumer Over-Indebtedness

This paper examines the relationship between self-control, financial literacy and over-indebtedness on consumer credit debt among a sample of U.K. consumers using data from a household survey. Both lack of self-control and financial illiteracy are positively associated with non-payment of consumer credit and self-reported excessive financial burdens of debt. Consumers who exhibit self-control problems are shown to make greater use of quick-access but high cost credit items such as store cards and payday loans. We also find consumers with self-control problems are more likely to suffer income shocks, credit withdrawals and unforeseen expenses on durables, suggesting that lack of self-control increases exposure to a variety of risks. In most specifications we find a stronger role for lack of self-control than for financial illiteracy in explaining consumer over-indebtedness.