The fable of the grasshopper and the ant: A research project on over-indebtedness and unemployment in Portugal

Abstract

When a high rate of indebtedness like ours is combined with the deterioration of the labour market, the financial situation of some families can become worse. To test these hypotheses, the Consumer Indebtedness Observatory started a research project to study the relation between unemployment and over-indebtedness in Portugal. Two empirical studies, based largely on personal interviews, are being carried out: one involves workers who have lost their jobs; the other involves debtors who sought the assistance of DECO to renegotiate their debts with creditors. Based on this, we can identify two general profiles which we have termed, as in a fable, the grasshopper and the ant. These profiles show different consumption patterns and different ways of dealing with money and credit. These differences help to explain the distinct sustainability in the face of unemployment shown by the ants and the grasshoppers.