"We use a new panel dataset of credit card accounts to analyze how consumers responded to the 2001 federal income tax rebates. We estimate the monthly response of credit card payments, spending, and debt, exploiting the unique, randomized timing of the rebate disbursement. We find that on...

We explore the effects of mandatory third-party review of mortgage contracts on the terms, availability, and performance of mortgage credit. Our study is based on a legislative experiment in which the State of Illinois required “high-risk” mortgage applicants acquiring or refinancing...

Incentive provision is a central question in modern economic theory. During the run up to the financial crisis, many banks attempted to encourage loan underwriting by giving out incentive packages to loan officers. Using a unique data set on small business loan officer compensation from a major...

We document that banking deregulation leads banks to offer lower initial rates on adjustable-rate mortgages to attract borrowers, but banks also shroud these contracts by increasing back-loaded resetting rates. More shrouding can be explained by higher proportion of naïve borrowers following...

In response to growing interest in household finance, this collection of essays with a foreword by John Y. Campbell, studies household and consumer use of credit instruments. It shows how individual consumers and households utilize various credit alternatives in managing their consumption and...

We examine the ability of policymakers to stimulate household borrowing and spending during the Great Recession by reducing banks' cost of funds. Using panel data on 8.5 million U.S. credit card accounts and 743 credit limit regression discontinuities, we estimate the marginal propensity to...