The Effect of Over‐Indebtedness on Health: Comparative Analyses for Europe
基于25个欧洲国家的面板数据，研究发现逾期债务会轻微增加自评健康不佳的概率，且国家层面的债务处理法规和社会污名会调节这一影响。
Summary The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it tests whether an effect of over‐indebtedness on self‐assessed health exists. Fixed‐effects panel regression models based on panel data for 25 European countries show that being in arrears increases the likelihood of reporting bad/very bad health. However, effects are weak in terms of economic significance. The second research question focuses on the effect heterogeneity of overindebtedness among different European countries. It asks whether country‐level factors moderate the effect of problematic debt on health. These macro‐variables are the accessibility of health services, debt management and debt discharge regulations, dispute resolution with banks/insurance companies, and the social stigma of being over‐indebted/in debt. Descriptive analyses showed that some aspects of the legal debt‐collection process (e.g., higher costs of debt collection) are associated with a stronger effect of over‐indebtedness on subjectively assessed poor health. There is also some evidence that easier dispute resolution with banks and insurance companies is correlated with smaller effects of over‐indebtedness on health.