Gener Generation Z and Debt Burden: Behavioral and Institutional Factors

The article examines the indebtedness of young people aged 18–25 (Generation Z) in Kazakhstan and CIS countries in comparison with foreign practices, drawing on Engel’s law and behavioral finance, as well as the results of a bibliometric-cluster analysis of international literature in the Scopus database. To assess the factors influencing the probability of having a loan among young people, logit and probit models were applied based on the author’s survey (N=70 for ages 18–25). It was found that 57.1% of young respondents have a loan; among those with loans, the median debt burden is 50% of income (mean 45.3%). The most common purposes of loans are appliances/electronics (≈4%), education (≈23%), and clothing (≈13%). Logit and probit estimates show weak and statistically insignificant relationships between having a loan and the indicators “budgeting,” “expense planning,” and “savings” when accounting for gender and place of residence; interpretations and institutional implications are discussed. The results correspond to three stable clusters of international literature: (A) over-indebtedness & microfinance, (B) financial literacy & inclusion, (C) Engel’s law & income distribution.