Date: February 17, 2025
Author(s): Evelyn Blumenberg, Fariba Siddiq, Samuel Speroni, Jacob L. Wasserman
Abstract
Most car buyers use some form of financing to purchase a vehicle, and almost half of all California borrowers carry some amount of automobile debt. While automobile loans enable lower-income households — who might otherwise be priced out of vehicle ownership — to make payments over time, this debt can significantly strain household budgets. The COVID-19 pandemic elevated the importance of owning a private vehicle as concerns over viral person-to-person transmission made traveling by car even more attractive compared to communal transportation (e.g., public transit). Moreover, a host of pandemic-related services, including testing and vaccination, were either only or best accessible by car.
To better understand how COVID-19 impacted car ownership, we explored whether automobile loans (and in turn debt) in California — particularly in communities of color where workers were more likely to work outside of the home — increased during the pandemic.
About the Project
Most U.S. metropolitan areas developed alongside the automobile. Consequently, access to opportunities in these neighborhoods is predicated on having an automobile, yet many households do not have the resources to […]