Recent developments in consumer credit and payments

On September 20-21, 2007, the Research Department and the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia held their fourth joint conference to present and discuss the latest research on consumer credit payments. Approximately 75 participants attended the conference, which included six research papers on topics such as liquidity constraints, the rise in bankruptcy, and the financial mistakes made by credit card holders. In “Recent Developments in Consumer Credit and Payments,” Mitchell Berlin summarizes the papers presented at the conference. ; Also issued as Payment Cards Center Discussion Paper No. 08-03