Economic Vulnerability and Financial Fragility

Abstract

T he recent financial crisis and recession inflicted substantial economic and financial harm on millions of families, but the effects were not uniform across the population. The hardest-hit groups included individuals or families who were the young, the less educated, and members of a minority group. Unemployment rates among all these groups increased sharply and remain elevated more than four years into the recovery (Bureau of Labor Statistics, various years; Figure 1). 1 Unfortunately, many families with the greatest exposure to the economic dislocations of the recent recession also had very risky balance sheets beforehand that were characterized by low levels of liquid assets, high portfolio concentrations in housing, and relatively high balance-sheet leverage. The authors argue that economic vulnerability and risky balance sheets are correlated because they derive from common factors. These factors include a low stock of human capital, inexperience (relative youth), and, in some cases, the legacy of discrimination in housing, education, and employment. Innate cognitive ability interacts with formal education and on-the-job experience to build human capital, while the legacy of discrimination may attenuate the translation of cognitive ability and education into human capital. Acquiring financial knowledge of risk management also requires time and experience and is more valuable to those with high levels of human capital and savings available to invest. Given the combination of these factors, individuals and families who are young, less cognitively able, and/or members of historically disadvantaged minorities are more likely to be economically vulnerable and to hold risky balance sheets because they lack financial knowledge and experience. Moreover, balance sheets of economically vulnerable families before the recent recession were especially risky after a decade of financial liberalization and innovation that increased the access of such families to homeownership and historically high leverage. Economically vulnerable families should avoid "doubling down" with risky balance sheets to enhance their future household financial stability. (JEL D14, D11, D12) Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, September/October 2013, 95(5), pp. 361-88.

Financial Fragility of Urban Households in Malaysia

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The efficacy of macroeconomic policies in resolving financial market disequilibria: A cross‐country analysis

“…However, both Kuttner (2012) and Acharya and Naqvi (2012) disregarded the fact that reducing liquidity may lead to liquidity hoarding in the financial system, which causes inefficiency in financial markets. Studies have also given credence to the notion that limited financial knowledge and lack of experience are instrumental factors in the formation of financial market imbalances (Cason & Samek, 2014;Emmons & Noeth, 2013).…”

A Balance Sheet Perspective on Financial Success: Why Starting Early Matters

“…Regression analysis helps sort out and quantify cohort and other factors that determine income and wealth. Emmons and Noeth () report results from a regression of family income on demographic, idiosyncratic, birth‐year cohort, and time variables in a sample of over 35,000 observations drawn from eight waves of the Survey of Consumer Finances . They find that family income rises with the age of the family head, but at a decreasing rate.…”

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