Total U.S. credit card debt has almost doubled since 1988. Little is apparent from the aggregate data, however, about the composition of credit card debt growth. In this article, Peter S. Yoo separates household data into two categories: changes in the number of households with credit cards, and...

Between 1991 and 1997, consumer revolving credit outstanding more than doubled - from $247 billion to $514 billion. This rapid rise of consumer debt, especially credit card debt, has generated much discussion about its cause, sustainability, and implications. Peter S. Yoo uses the recently...

The Monetary Control Act of 1980 requires the Federal Reserve to charge customers for financial services, with the intent of improving the efficiency with which Fed offices deliver those services. Prior studies found little improvement in the efficiency of Fed check processing operations after...