The Credit Card Debt Puzzle: The Role of Preferences, Credit Access Risk, and Financial Literacy
利用1979年全国青年纵向调查数据，研究为何消费者同时持有高息信用卡债务和低息流动资产，发现信贷获取风险感知和预防性动机是关键因素。
We use the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to revisit what is termed the credit card debt puzzle: why consumers simultaneously co-hold high-interest credit card debt and low-interest assets that could be used to pay down this debt. Relative to individuals with no credit card debt but positive liquid assets, borrower-savers have very different perceptions of future credit access risk and use credit cards for precautionary motives. Moreover, changing perceptions about credit access risk are essential for predicting transitions among the two groups. Preferences and the composition of financial portfolios also play a role in these transitions.