Standard economic theory says that unsecured, high-interest, short-term debt — such as borrowing via credit cards and … income shock of unemployment. Instead, individuals smooth their credit card debt and overdrafts by adjusting consumption. We … first use detailed longitudinal information on debit and credit card transactions, account balances, and credit lines from a …

The market for corporate credit is characterized by significant seasonal variation, both in interest rates and the …

the financial health of the contracting parties and uncertainty regarding the borrowers' credit quality. The relative …

-constrained investors to take excessive risks. Ignored are unconstrained investors speculating on higher prices during credit booms. To … a bank/brokerage-credit-fueled stock-market bubble. The direct effect is a 25 cent increase in a stock's market …

We develop a tractable dynamic model of credit markets in which lending standards and the quality of potential … can amplify and prolong temporary downturns, affecting lending volume, credit spreads, and default rates. We characterize … constraints naturally incentivize tight lending standards, further amplifying shocks to credit markets …

This paper develops a network model of interbank lending, in which banks decide to extend credit to their potential … literature on financial networks, we focus on how anticipation of future defaults may result in ex ante “credit freezes,” whereby … banks refuse to extend credit to one another. We first characterize the terms of the interbank contracts and the patterns of …