Debt Repayment: A Typology

Abstract

This research paper presents a four-category typology of the debt market based on attitudinal and behavioral data associated with the repayment of student loans. Qualitative interviews incorporating the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) as well as a quantitative survey were used to obtain the data so the typology could be created. The four groups identified were the Life Indebted, the Traditionalist, the Entrepreneur, and the Expedient Payee.