Is the Magnitude of Household Debt in Barbados a Concern

This paper provides an assessment of the size and composition of household debt in Barbados over the period 1990 to 2010. First, the study estimates the size of household indebtedness, with particular emphasis on recent trends in household debt and the main providers of credit. Second, it attempts to show how household debt varies with key macroeconomic indicators. Finally, a cursory look at the concerns resulting from rising household debt is taken. Unlike previous studies on household debt in Barbados (Craigwell & Kaidou-Jeffery, 2010; Moore & Williams, 2008), this paper does not constrain the analysis to household debt extended by commercial banks. This more holistic approach allows the authors to capture any emerging institutional trends that might be of interest to policymakers.