High-cost financial services allow economically insecure families to make ends meet but often contribute to additional financial strain in the long run. This study uses novel data from the Shift Project to describe the link between schedule unpredictability and high-cost debt (i.e., payday loans, pawnshop loans, auto-title loans, overdrafts, and problematic credit card debt) among service workers. First, it compares the relative magnitude of the associations between high-cost debt, schedule unpredictability, and levels of income. Second, it investigates whether income volatility mediates the relationship between schedule unpredictability and high-cost debt. Finally, it describes whether the link between schedule unpredictability and high-cost debt varies by institutional and policy contexts. Results indicate that schedule unpredictability is a substantively meaningful, independent, and understudied dimension of inequality in financial outcomes.

中文翻译：

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进度不可预测性和高成本债务：服务工作者的案例

高成本的金融服务使经济上没有安全感的家庭能够维持生计，但从长远来看，往往会导致额外的财务压力。本研究使用来自 Shift 项目的新数据来描述服务人员的进度不可预测性和高成本债务（即发薪日贷款、当铺贷款、自动所有权贷款、透支和有问题的信用卡债务）之间的联系。首先，它比较了高成本债务、进度不可预测性和收入水平之间关联的相对大小。其次，它调查收入波动是否在进度不可预测性和高成本债务之间起到中介作用。最后，它描述了进度不可预测性和高成本债务之间的联系是否因制度和政策环境而异。