<p>Household accumulation of debt and arrears on debt, especially among low-income families, is an extremely topical issue in the UK media and in policy circles. This paper utilises data from the UK's Survey of Low Income Families in order to examine use of credit, and default and arrears, among low-income families with children. It shows how credit use and accumulation of arrears differ between single parents and couples with children, and also between homeowners and renters. It also briefly examines the persistence of arrears on specific forms of credit using the panel element of the data-set, now named the Families and Children Survey.</p>
Authors
Richard Disney
Research Associate University of Sussex
Richard is an IFS Research Associate, a Part-time Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex and a Visiting Professor of Economics at UCL.
Sarah Bridges
Journal article details
- ISSN
- Print: 0143-5671 Online: 1475-5890
- JEL
- D12, D14
- Issue
- March 2004
Suggested citation
Bridges, S and Disney, R. (2004). 'Use of credit and arrears on debt among low-income families in the United Kingdom' (2004)
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