Survey of the Use of Consumer Credit by Members of the Utah State University Staff

A study was made of the use of credit by a randomly selected sample of the Ut ah State University staff personnel during 1964 and 1965. The information was obtained by means of a questionnaire. The major objective of the study was to examine the relationship between income and consumer debt with specific reference to reasons underlying the demand for consumer credit, the relationships between amount of consumer credit and variables such as family income, family size , age of family head and amount of liquid assets, and the nature of the demand function for consumer credit. Analysis o f t he information supplied by the questionnaires suggested the following conclusions : (1) Although credit and the variables were closely related, no really significant linear relationship could be established from t he data on hand . (2 ) Use of consumer credit was most frequent among the university personnel under 40 years of age. (3) The major purpose of us ing credit was to purchase automobiles. (4) The most important source of credit was the credit union, with commercial banks, auto s ales finance companies, and retail outlets in the second , third, and fourth places respectively. (5) The use of consumer credit is a middle class phenomenon, with the concentration of borrowers in the $5 ,250 to $9,249 income range