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Abstract
Household purchasing power represents a key indicator of population welfare and economic stability. In the post-pandemic period, Romania has faced significant macroeconomic challenges, characterised by rising inflation and a sharp increase in interest rates following restrictive monetary policy measures adopted by the National Bank of Romania. Although necessary to curb inflationary pressures, higher interest rates have increased borrowing costs for households, particularly those holding mortgage and consumer loans, thereby affecting disposable income and living standards.
This paper aims to analyse the impact of rising interest rates on the purchasing power of Romanian households, with a particular focus on credit-consuming households. The research is based on a quantitative methodological approach, combining the analysis of secondary data from official statistical sources with a questionnaire-based empirical study conducted among Romanian households. The collected data were processed using statistical analysis methods implemented in SPSS.
The results indicate that rising interest rates have significantly reduced households’ capacity to save and constrained their ability to cover current expenditures, especially among households with multiple active loans. Although nominal income levels have increased in recent years, these gains have not fully compensated for the negative effects of inflation and higher borrowing costs. The findings underline the need for coherent monetary and fiscal policies aimed at protecting household purchasing power and ensuring long-term financial stability.
Keywords: interest rate, household purchasing power, credit, inflation, living standards, Romania
