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Review Article: Household Finances Under Pressure: What is the Role of Social Policy?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2011

Lindsey Appleyard
Lindsey Appleyard*
Affiliation:
Institute of Applied Social Studies, University of Birmingham E-mail: l.j.appleyard@bham.ac.uk
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Extract

Within the context of the 2007 financial crisis and the (ongoing) financial crisis for many households and consumers, this review article explores the key debates in the social policy literature surrounding household accumulation of assets and debts. The first section contextualises emerging debates surrounding inequalities, financial exclusion and the need for greater financial citizenship within the post financial crisis era. The second section of the article considers household assets and debts, whilst the third section explores housing wealth and mortgage arrears. The fourth section examines recent research on how households manage their money. The final section of the article concludes by exploring the potential pathways for social policy research in relation to broader debates within the social sciences on household finances, assets and debts.

Keywords

Debtfinancehouseholdassetswealth
Type
Themed Section on Household Finances under Pressure: What is the Role of Social Policy?
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 131 - 140
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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