Empirical comparative analysis of household sector liabilities and assets in the context of financial crisis

Abstract

This paper presents the characteristics and trends in household debt and assets in Poland and selected European countries (Germany, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Lithuania) over the period of 2005-2012. The empirical analysis presented in this paper aims to support the thesis that although the changes in the level and structure of household debt in those countries were not the primary source of the crisis, they had some impact on its course, and the financial crisis influenced the direction of these changes. Data are taken from the ESA, mainly the Eurostat Database. The analysis is carried out on the basis of a simple measure which is the relation of liabilities (by types of household debt) to assets compared with the relation of savings to the household assets.