Overview
Standard Life Foundation commissioned the University of Bristol to conduct a rapid evidence review to understand people’s borrowing behaviour and how it impacts their financial wellbeing. Key findings included:
- Income strongly influences borrowing behaviour.
- Owning assets has some relation to borrowing behaviour.
- Psychological factors shape borrowing behaviour, but not as much as sociodemographics.
- Macro-economic conditions play a major role in shaping people’s financial situations, their access to borrowing and the cost of borrowing.
- Lower financial literacy is linked to poor borrowing behaviours and over-indebtedness.