Standard economic theory says that unsecured, high-interest, short-term debt -- such as borrowing via credit cards and … transitory 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 …

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 …

Using novel data on 1,240 credit agreements, we investigate sources of contractual complexity in the leveraged loan …

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

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

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

banks in providing credit to smaller borrowers about whom information is least complete and, more generally, support the …

Using confidential regulatory firm-bank-loan level data from the U.S., we document four new facts about the credit … market. First, private SMEs typically utilize all available bank credit which comprises their entire balance sheet debt …, compared to large listed firms who can switch between corporate bonds and drawing from credit lines. Second, SMEs borrow …

Information asymmetries are known in theory to lead to inefficiently low credit provision, yet empirical estimates of … to estimate welfare losses arising from asymmetric information in the market for online consumer credit. Building on … price distortions, we find only small overall welfare losses, particularly for high-credit-score borrowers …