Russian households’ finances during the pandemic

Abstract

This paper is based on data of the Household Finance Survey carried out from 2013 to 2020. The analysis shows that household income growth was less affected by the pandemic than by the economic downturn in 2015. Consumer lending continued to expand in 2020, with a rising percentage of lower income borrowers. The increase in the share of highly indebted households and the overall growth of debt burden were moderate in 2020. An outstanding consumer loan did not have a significant negative effect on the self-assessment of a respondent’s financial situation on average. This negative effect was statistically significant among families with children and borrowers from vulnerable categories of workers.