Household debt is defined as the amount of money that all adults in the household owe financial institutions. It includes consumer debt and mortgage loans. A significant rise in the level of this debt was a cause of the U.S. and European economic crises of 2007-2012. Several economists have argued that lowering this debt is essential to economic recovery in the U.S. and selected Eurozone countries.
Read more about Household Debt: Overview, Historical Perspective, Global Economic Impact, United States Household Debt Statistics, U.S. Economic Impact, Reducing Household Debt, Charts of U.S. Household Debt Variables, Household Over-indebtedness, External References
Famous quotes containing the words household and/or debt:
“The household is a school of power. There, within the door, learn the tragi-comedy of human life.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“However patriarchal the world, at home the child knows that his mother is the source of all power. The hand that rocks the cradle rules his world. . . . The son never forgets that he owes his life to his mother, not just the creation of it but the maintenance of it, and that he owes her a debt he cannot conceivably repay, but which she may call in at any time.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)