Consumer Financial Distress During Economic Downturn: Evidence From Five Provinces Of Zimbabwe

Purpose - Despite the inescapable picture of hardships and circumstances in Zimbabwe, there has not been dedicated research focused on understanding the management of household finances, particularly to assess financial distress and how it varies among Zimbabweans. This study aims to use survey data to measure financial distress and ascertain the socioeconomic, demographic and behavioural factors associated with it among Zimbabweans.Design/methodology/approach - A sample of 1,006 survey respondents from five provinces of Zimbabwe was used. The principal component analysis approach was used to create a composite financial distress score. Thet-test for the equality of means and analysis of variance were used to test for the difference in financial distress between groups, whilst the ordinary least squares regression was used to determine the factors associated with financial distress after controlling for other factors.Findings - The study found that consumer financial distress was mainly explained by locality (urban/rural and province), frequency and level of income (informality) and age. Having saved in the past 12 months did not significantly differentiate savers from non-savers on financial distress. The study also found that gender, level of education, marital status, role in household financial decision-making and role in household provisioning were not significant predictors of financial distress.Research limitations/implications - The findings have policy implications, especially for the government of Zimbabwe, its agencies and local authorities. Enacting policies that create opportunities for inclusive and sustainable livelihoods and economic growth should be the priority. In addition, instituting favourable policies that allow informal business to grow, formalise and integrate with the formal economy may help to sustainably grow the economy and alleviate the financial hardships among consumers. For consumers, adopting financial behaviours that ensure that they live within their means cannot be over emphasised.Originality/value - This is the first paper to profile the socioeconomic, demographic and behavioural factors associated with financial distress during the economic downturn among the impoverished Zimbabweans.