Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/61394 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
DIW Discussion Papers No. 1179
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
This paper investigates whether self-employed households use consumer loans - in particular instalment loans and overdrafts - to finance business activities. Controlling for financial and non-financial household variables we show that self-employed households particularly use personal overdrafts significantly more often than employee households. When analyzing the correlation between consumer loan takeups and consumption of self-employed in comparison to employee households, we find first evidence that overdrafts are used by self-employed to finance their business as well. This indicates that intermingling constitutes a financing strategy when regular business loans might not be accessible.
Subjects: 
Small Business Finance
Consumer Credit
Financial Intermingling
JEL: 
G32
D12
D14
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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