Factors Affecting Household Debt During the Covid-19 Epidemic Situation

Abstract

This research article aimed to study the factors affecting household debt and the amount of household debt during the Covid-19 epidemic situation. The sample consisted of 32,688 households in all provinces of Thailand. The tools used for data collection were secondary data obtained from the 2021 Household Socio-Economic Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office. The statistics used in data analysis included the use of logistic models to analyze the effects of independent variables on the probability of the outcome being debt. The result of the study found that the variables that had an effect on household indebtedness were the age of the household head, marital status, degree of study, number of members, entitlement to reimbursement of medical expenses from government agencies/state enterprises, receipt of other state aid programs, average monthly income, average monthly consumption expenditure, average monthly of non-consumption expenditure, property value, financial assets, problems with spending, ability to borrow for business, and ability to borrow for emergency purposes. The results showed that the independent variables correlated with the amount of household debt were the age of the head of household, marital status, degree of study, number of members, entitlement to reimbursement of medical expenses from government agencies/state enterprises, receipt of welfare from government cards, average monthly income, average monthly consumption expenditure, average monthly non-consumption expenditure, property value, financial assets, problems with spending, and ability to borrow for business. According to the study, three main factors affecting household debt were unstable incomes, lack of entitlement to welfare rights, and lack of government assistance during the crisis. Therefore, the results of this research can be used to suggest solutions to such problems to the government or related agencies in order to reduce household debt.