The role of middle-class status in payday loan borrowing: a multivariate approach

Soc Work. 2014 Oct;59(4):329-37. doi: 10.1093/sw/swu033.

Abstract

Payday loans refer to small-dollar, high-interest, short-term loans usually extended to lower-income consumers. Despite much research to the contrary, the payday loan industry asserts that it primarily serves middle-class Americans. This article discusses the authors' investigation of the industry's claim, by analyzing data from a U.S. bankruptcy court serving a Southern district. Results of the multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that, controlling for various sociodemographic and economic variables, two middle-class indicators--home-ownership and annual income at or greater than the median income--are associated with a decreased likelihood of using payday loans. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for social work practice and advocacy in regard to financial capability, particularly asset development, income maintenance, and payday loan regulation.

MeSH terms

  • Bankruptcy / economics
  • Budgets / statistics & numerical data*
  • Economics / statistics & numerical data*
  • Housing / economics
  • Humans
  • Income / statistics & numerical data*
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Ownership / economics
  • Poverty / economics*
  • Social Class*
  • Social Work
  • United States