The Relationship between Consumer Credit Card Debt and Immigrants in the UK: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose: This paper systematically reviews a reappraisal of the relationship between consumer behavior and credit card debt.
 Methodology: A thorough search was performed using scholarly databases including EBSCOHost, Google Scholar, Wiley Online Library, JStor, ProQuest, and Taylor & Francis. After a vigorously screening process, a total of 77 articles were accepted with the majority (96%) of articles published after 2012. Several consumer behavior factors were considered such as social factors, psychological factors, impulse buying, compulsive buying, optimism and pessimism, risk-seeking, mental health, age, income, education, immigrants, religion and financial literacy.
 Findings: Overall, influential factors that contribute to credit debt can be attributed to redlining and predatory lending by financial institutions. Racial inequalities have been shown to play a significant role in credit debt, especially in the UK.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: A major knowledge gap concerning immigrants exists and further provide insight on the role played by an individual’s ethnic group in the rate of home equity decline as well as the overall net wealth of a household, ultimately affecting their credit debt. It would be useful for policy-makers to examine the biased placed on credit debt and social-economic backgrounds.