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The repayment of financial debt: some mathematical considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2023

John Stubbs
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby DE22 1GB e-mails: johnstubbs33@gmail.com; j.adetunji@derby.ac.uk
Jacob Adetunji
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby DE22 1GB e-mails: johnstubbs33@gmail.com; j.adetunji@derby.ac.uk

Extract

This paper focuses on the mathematics behind the repayment of financial debt. The availability of credit, the inevitable accompaniment of which is debt, is an essential component of a monetised economy. Without it most people would not be able to purchase large items like homes, cars and other expensive consumer durables. Businesses would not expand and prosper without access to credit. However, the debt incurred by the availability of credit can also bring huge stress, and indeed distress, from personal and commercial insolvencies to the inhumanities of debt bondage associated with modern-day slavery and human trafficking. The historical origins of debt lie in antiquity and even pre-date the existence of monetised economies [1].

Type
Articles
Copyright
© The Authors, 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Mathematical Association

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