Consumer expenditures and problems of savings of economic subjects in the conditions of economic shocks – behavioral aspects

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to reveal the main reasons for the low level of savings, investments and excessive consumer lending and opportunities for improving financial well-being at the micro level and forming sources for future development. The article reveals the main problems of citizens’ savings and consumption that occurred before the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And which only intensified during it. Some macroeconomic indicators reflecting the state of citizens’ savings and dependence on income were analyzed. Despite the stable growth of the population’s income, the savings rate remains at a low level. On the other hand, the demand for loan funds is ahead of such growth. In this way, the thesis about the negative relationship between wage growth and the rate of savings, put forward by some scientists earlier, was proved. Regardless of the presence of economic factors affecting the level of consumption and savings, the psychological reasons for the low tendency of citizens to save were also analyzed. Among these reasons are the deficit thinking effect, the default effect, confirmation bias, and loss aversion bias. It was also analyzed based on the facts, how much the psychological prejudices of Ukrainians influenced financial behavior. In particular, the fallacy of prejudices regarding the impracticality of investing in deposits of Ukrainian banks, as well as the idea that the Ukrainian banking system underwent catastrophic transformations in the first years after the banking reform, was considered.The research methods are descriptive, analytical, methods of synthesis and comparison. As a result of the analysis, the article proposes a comprehensive approach to men’s behaviour toward savings during the pandemic according to behavioural economics.Consideration of the economic and psychological aspects of the situation with savings led to the provision of conclusions and proposals. The main task for improving the effectiveness of managing one’s own expenses today is to understand the reasons for irrational behavior of people in new circumstances from the point of view of behavioral economics and the application of the theory of “pushing” for the formation of positive socio-economic changes. It is suggested to use this paper for further and deeper practical research of certain aspects of changing people’s behaviour for better investment solutions and financial wellbeing. JEL classіfіcatіon: D14, D91, E21