TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Maczulskij, Terhi
AU  - Kanninen, Ohto
AU  - Karhunen, Hannu
AU  - Tahvonen, Ossi
        TI  - The Debt Burden of Job Loss in a Nordic Welfare State
        PY  - 2025/Jun/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 17940
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp17940
        AB  - Using linked employer-employee data combined with administrative data on debt enforcement, we analyze the impact of job loss on debt problems in Finland, where even 50% of income may be subject to wage garnishment for up to 25 years. Our results show that job loss, defined by plant closures and mass layoffs, increases the incidence of enforced debt by approximately 10%, with the effect persisting for at least a decade. The impact is particularly large for unpaid taxes and various private debts, such as installment purchase payments. Moreover, the effects are stronger among individuals who were already burdened with excessive overall debt, such as mortgages, before displacement. We also document spillover effects on spouses and children, indicating that job loss can have far-reaching consequences for household indebtedness. However, we find no significant effect on filing for personal bankruptcy.
        KW  - employer-employee data
KW  - involuntary job loss
KW  - debt enforcement
KW  - default
KW  - personal bankruptcy
        ER  -