In financial markets where consumers can only be reached through an advisor, product providers usually compete indirectly for consumers through commissions to advisors. Therefore, a regulatory ban on commissions may restrict this competition. We formulate a theoretical model in order to study...

Consumer fraud (including predatory home loans) is a widespread and serious problem in the United States. To help combat this problem, forty-five states have enacted consumer fraud statutes that provide for attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff to address the economic feasibility problem in...