Financial journeys : Reasoning about debt and money among young adults in Sweden
(2023) In Financial journeys: Reasoning about debt and money among young adults in Sweden- Abstract
- Young adults are often mentioned as among the most financially vulnerable groups, and Sweden is often characterized as being one of the countries in the EU with the most indebted households. While this houshold indebtedness mainly is linked to home loans, also other forms of credit usage have become increasingly common. Given the increasing access to readily availabe consumer credits, a difficult housing market with fewer smaller rental apartments, and a tendency for postponed entry into adulthood, how do young Swedes navigate these circumstances?
This study draws on interviews (focus group, dyadic and individual) with thirty-three young adults aged between 18 and 29 (24 women and 9 men) from five cities in Sweden and with various... (More) - Young adults are often mentioned as among the most financially vulnerable groups, and Sweden is often characterized as being one of the countries in the EU with the most indebted households. While this houshold indebtedness mainly is linked to home loans, also other forms of credit usage have become increasingly common. Given the increasing access to readily availabe consumer credits, a difficult housing market with fewer smaller rental apartments, and a tendency for postponed entry into adulthood, how do young Swedes navigate these circumstances?
This study draws on interviews (focus group, dyadic and individual) with thirty-three young adults aged between 18 and 29 (24 women and 9 men) from five cities in Sweden and with various social class backgrounds in order to explore their reasoning on money, consumption, debt and credits. The empirical material also includes survey data collected in conjunction with the interviews, photos of advertisements, and information on 'financial solutions' in the five Swedish cities.
A key finding in this study is that these young adults refer to what can best be described as a form of money talk etiquette when talking about money. Understanding this code of conduct is closely related to the transition into adulthood and what it means to be a responsible financial subject. A second key finding involves how these young adults refer to their own and others’ financial reasoning and practices in terms of financial journeys. These financial journeys are temporally situated socialization processes unfolding biographically within the respondents’ own life-course trajectories. A third key finding is the entrepreneurship of the self, a form of investment which stresses the importance of personal growth, self-realization, gaining new experiences, and increasing knowledge. Finally, a fourth key finding shows how these young adults attribute great importance to money in terms of its enabling properties. Young adults refer to different types of financial means as granting them the freedom to control, maintain, and shape the life that they want to live in terms of their own tastes, wants, needs, identities, and lifestyles.
The study argues for the importance of shifting between different theoretical perspectives and analytical tools in order to better understand young adults’ reasoning about money, credit, loans, and personal finance. In the study a combined theoretical perspectve is used, comprising of theories on moral economy, on the cultural and social meaning of money, on the financialization of everyday life, on the significance of everday life, on the life course, and on consumption and its social significance.
(Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Unga vuxna nämns ofta som bland de mest ekonomiskt utsatta grupperna och Sverige karakteriseras ofta som ett av de länder i EU som har de mest skuldsatta hushållen. Även om hushållens skuldsättning främst är kopplad till bostadslån, har även andra former av kreditanvändning blivit allt vanligare. Mot bakgrund av en ökande tillgången till lättillgängliga konsumentkrediter, en tuff bostadsmarknad med färre mindre hyresrätter och en tendens till uppskjutet inträde i vuxenlivet, hur navigerar unga svenskar i dessa omständigheter?
Denna studie bygger på intervjuer (fokusgrupp, dyadiska och individuella) med trettiotre unga vuxna mellan 18 och 29 (24 kvinnor och 9 män) med olika klassbakgrunder från fem städer i Sverige för att... (More) - Unga vuxna nämns ofta som bland de mest ekonomiskt utsatta grupperna och Sverige karakteriseras ofta som ett av de länder i EU som har de mest skuldsatta hushållen. Även om hushållens skuldsättning främst är kopplad till bostadslån, har även andra former av kreditanvändning blivit allt vanligare. Mot bakgrund av en ökande tillgången till lättillgängliga konsumentkrediter, en tuff bostadsmarknad med färre mindre hyresrätter och en tendens till uppskjutet inträde i vuxenlivet, hur navigerar unga svenskar i dessa omständigheter?
Denna studie bygger på intervjuer (fokusgrupp, dyadiska och individuella) med trettiotre unga vuxna mellan 18 och 29 (24 kvinnor och 9 män) med olika klassbakgrunder från fem städer i Sverige för att utforska deras resonerande kring pengar, konsumtion, skulder och krediter. Det empiriska materialet innehåller även enkätdata som samlats in i samband med intervjuerna, samt bilder på annonser och information om ”ekonomiska möjligheter” i de fem svenska städerna.
Ett nyckelfynd i studien är att dessa unga vuxna refererar till vad som bäst kan beskrivas som en form av pengapratetikett när de pratar om pengar. Att förstå denna uppförandekod är nära relaterat till övergången till vuxenlivet och vad det innebär att vara ett ansvarsfullt ekonomiskt subjekt. Ett andra nyckelresultat handlar om hur dessa unga vuxna refererar till sina egna och andras ekonomiska resonemang och praktiker i termer av finansiella resor. Dessa finansiella resor består av temporalt belägna socialiseringsprocesser som utspelar sig under, och i relation till, respondenternas individuella livsförlopp.
Ett tredje nyckelfynd är jagets entreprenörskap, en form av investering som betonar vikten av personlig tillväxt, självförverkligande, få nya erfarenheter och ökad kunskap. Slutligen visar ett fjärde nyckelfynd hur dessa unga vuxna tillskriver pengar stor vikt när det gäller dess möjliggörande egenskaper. Unga vuxna hänvisar till olika typer av ekonomiska medel som ger dem friheten att kontrollera, underhålla och forma det liv som de vill leva i termer av behov, identiteter och livsstilar.
Studien argumenterar för vikten av att växla mellan olika teoretiska perspektiv och analytiska verktyg för att bättre förstå unga vuxnas resonemang om pengar, krediter, lån och privatekonomi. I studien används ett kombinerat teoretiskt perspektiv, bestående av teorier om moralisk ekonomi, om pengars kulturella och sociala betydelse, om finansialisering av vardagslivet, om vardagslivets betydelse, om livsförloppet och om konsumtion och dess social betydelse. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/69bced41-c50e-4c9c-8af5-39a11b4734dd
- author
- Crusefalk, Lars LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Associate Professor Pellandini-Simányi, Léna, Università della Svizzera italiana
- organization
- alternative title
- Finansiella resor : Resonerande kring skulder och pengar bland unga vuxna i Sverige
- publishing date
- 2023-03-15
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- adulthood, credit and loans, economic sociology, financialization, focus group, life course, moral economy, vuxenliv, krediter och lån, ekonomisk sociologi, finansialisering, fokusgrupper, livslopp, moralisk ekonomi
- in
- Financial journeys: Reasoning about debt and money among young adults in Sweden
- issue
- 132
- pages
- 314 pages
- publisher
- Lund University
- defense location
- Edens hörsal, Paradisgatan 5H, 223 50, Lund
- defense date
- 2023-05-11 10:15:00
- ISSN
- 1102-4712
- 1102-4712
- ISBN
- 978-91-8039-648-6
- 978-91-8039-647-9
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 69bced41-c50e-4c9c-8af5-39a11b4734dd
- date added to LUP
- 2023-04-11 16:19:40
- date last changed
- 2023-09-06 09:30:06
@phdthesis{69bced41-c50e-4c9c-8af5-39a11b4734dd,
abstract = {{Young adults are often mentioned as among the most financially vulnerable groups, and Sweden is often characterized as being one of the countries in the EU with the most indebted households. While this houshold indebtedness mainly is linked to home loans, also other forms of credit usage have become increasingly common. Given the increasing access to readily availabe consumer credits, a difficult housing market with fewer smaller rental apartments, and a tendency for postponed entry into adulthood, how do young Swedes navigate these circumstances?<br/>This study draws on interviews (focus group, dyadic and individual) with thirty-three young adults aged between 18 and 29 (24 women and 9 men) from five cities in Sweden and with various social class backgrounds in order to explore their reasoning on money, consumption, debt and credits. The empirical material also includes survey data collected in conjunction with the interviews, photos of advertisements, and information on 'financial solutions' in the five Swedish cities. <br/>A key finding in this study is that these young adults refer to what can best be described as a form of money talk etiquette when talking about money. Understanding this code of conduct is closely related to the transition into adulthood and what it means to be a responsible financial subject. A second key finding involves how these young adults refer to their own and others’ financial reasoning and practices in terms of financial journeys. These financial journeys are temporally situated socialization processes unfolding biographically within the respondents’ own life-course trajectories. A third key finding is the entrepreneurship of the self, a form of investment which stresses the importance of personal growth, self-realization, gaining new experiences, and increasing knowledge. Finally, a fourth key finding shows how these young adults attribute great importance to money in terms of its enabling properties. Young adults refer to different types of financial means as granting them the freedom to control, maintain, and shape the life that they want to live in terms of their own tastes, wants, needs, identities, and lifestyles.<br/>The study argues for the importance of shifting between different theoretical perspectives and analytical tools in order to better understand young adults’ reasoning about money, credit, loans, and personal finance. In the study a combined theoretical perspectve is used, comprising of theories on moral economy, on the cultural and social meaning of money, on the financialization of everyday life, on the significance of everday life, on the life course, and on consumption and its social significance.<br/>}},
author = {{Crusefalk, Lars}},
isbn = {{978-91-8039-648-6}},
issn = {{1102-4712}},
keywords = {{adulthood; credit and loans; economic sociology; financialization; focus group; life course; moral economy; vuxenliv; krediter och lån; ekonomisk sociologi; finansialisering; fokusgrupper; livslopp; moralisk ekonomi}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
number = {{132}},
publisher = {{Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Financial journeys: Reasoning about debt and money among young adults in Sweden}},
title = {{Financial journeys : Reasoning about debt and money among young adults in Sweden}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/143745559/Lars_Crusefalk_AVH.pdf}},
year = {{2023}},
}