This paper discusses first the role of mobile money accounts to enhance financial inclusion towards vulnerable groups in developing countries in the light of recent empirical evidence. Second, we explore the role of regulation to address risks to consumers and the financial system arising from...

Der Beitrag stellt den derzeitigen deutschen und europäischen verbraucherpolitischen Ansatz im Bereich der Finanzdienstleistungen vor. Verschiedene Informationspflichten sind hier das maßgebliche Instrument zur Unterstützung der Entwicklung eines funktionierenden Marktes. Informationsangebote...

This paper studies obfuscation decisions by firms in retail financial markets theoretically and experimentally. We show that more prominent firms are more likely to obfuscate. While prominent firms always choose maximum obfuscation, the obfuscation by less prominent firms depends on the degree...

Demographic changes, tight public budgets, and reduced generosity of occupational pension plans shift the responsibility for an adequate retirement provision towards the individual. Applying the theoretical perspectives of Behavioural Finance and New Institutionalism to the domain of retirement...

The recent financial crisis has led many to question how well businesses deliver consumer financial services and how well regulatory institutions address problems in consumer financial markets. In response, the Obama administration proposed a new agency to oversee consumer financial services,...

This testimony addresses the proposal of the Obama Administration to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) which would have the authority to issue and enforce new regulations related to consumer lending products. This testimony criticizes the proposal on three grounds. First,...

We analyze 15.6 million storefront payday loans made to 1.8 million unique borrowers in 2013 to examine payday loan terms and usage. We find that loan prices and loan amounts are generally not at state-mandated maximum levels. For the 30 states in our sample, we find that the number of loans per...