• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.225-240
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of households with risky debt loads. The study used financial ratios to determine which households were over-indebted. The 3 ratios used were Debt to Asset ratio, Debt to Financial asset ratio, and Debt Service ratio. Data for this study was the 2011 Survey of Household Finance. Households that demonstrated total debts of 70% or more when compared to total assets were 8.8%. Households that demonstrated a debt load totaling 5 or more times their total financial assets were 19%. Households with monthly repayment obligations of 40% or more of disposable income were 20%. Households that fulfilled all 3 financial ratio criteria were 1.5% of total indebted households. Over-indebted households demonstrated severe economic condition in terms of debt, but not all over-indebted households were categorized as being in economically vulnerable group. The major determinants of households with risky debts were income, asset, purpose of loans, and spending behavior of the households.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.63-78
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• 2018

This study examined the insolvency of debtors using multiple-indicator approaches and compared the outcomes across income levels with the 2016 'Household Financial and Welfare Survey'. This study used (1) the total debt to total assets ratio (DTA), (2) the total debt service ratio (DSR), and (3) the Household Default Risk Index (HDRI) recently developed by the Bank of Korea. Households in the lowest income quintile were more likely to be insolvent than any other income group. Demographics, such as age and gender of the household head, and most of the financial variables significantly increased the likelihood of insolvency based on the DTA. The number of household members and job status increased the likelihood of insolvency based on the DSR. Also, age, gender of the household head, and most of the financial variables increased the likelihood of household insolvency based on the HDRI after controlling for other demographics and financial variables.