Debt and family bankruptcy in times of confinement due to COVID-19: case of the province of Jaen

Abstract

The general objective of this article was to determine the effect of COVID-19 confinement on the debt and bankruptcy of families in the city of Jaén. A quantitative, non-experimental approach was used with a sample of 123 men and women of legal age living in the city of Jaén. The survey technique was used and the questionnaire was used as an instrument. The results obtained show that the impact of social confinement has been devastating for the family economy, since 107 of those surveyed stated that they lost their jobs, 113 are still in debt with some financial entity, 118 of those surveyed stated that they were the only ones who contributed economically to their family. With all of the above, it is concluded that the loss of employment due to the social isolation decreed by the Government has generated a massive increase in extreme poverty in the city of Jaén because the inhabitants lost their jobs, maintain overdue debts with financial entities, where none has provided any facility to the overdue debts or stopped charging interest. And in addition, in spite of these difficulties, they have not received the economic support that the Government provided in times of pandemic.