Marie-Hélène Broihanne and Daria Plotkina, professors at EMSBS, recently published an article in the Journal of Banking & Finance [CNRS cat. 2, FNEGE cat. 1, HCERES cat. A, AJG 3].
The article is entitled “Determinants of individuals' objective and subjective financial fragility during the COVID-19 pandemic” and was written in collaboration with Stefanie Kleimeier (Maastricht University), Arvid O.I. Hoffmann (University of Adelaide), and Anja S. Göritz (University of Augsburg).
Abstract
We examine determinants of the objective and subjective financial fragility of 2100 individuals across Australia, France, Germany, and South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective financial fragility reflects individuals’ (in)ability to deal with unexpected expenses, while subjective financial fragility reflects their emotional response to financial demands. Controlling for an extensive set of socio-demographics, we find that negative personal experiences during the pandemic (i.e., reduced or lost employment; COVID-19 infection) are associated with higher objective and subjective financial fragility. However, individuals’ cognitive (i.e., financial literacy) as well as non-cognitive abilities (i.e., internal locus of control; psychological resilience) help to counteract this higher financial fragility. Finally, we examine the role of government financial support (i.e., income support; debt relief) and find that it is negatively related to financial fragility only for the economically weakest households. Our results have implications for public policymakers, providing levers for reducing individuals’ objective and subjective financial fragility.