Debt Repayment: A Typology

Abstract

This research paper presents a four-category typology of the debt market based on attitudinal and behavioral data associated with the repayment of student loans. Qualitative interviews incorporating the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET®) as well as a quantitative survey were used to obtain the data so the typology could be created. The four groups identified were the Life Indebted, the Traditionalist, the Entrepreneur, and the Expedient Payee.