We examine the effect of direct mail (commonly referred to as junk mail) advertising on individual financial decisions by studying consumer choice of home equity debt contracts. Consistent with the theoretical predictions, we find that financial variables underlying the relative pricing of debt...

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...

When financing real estate properties through a mortgage, borrowers often face a variety of loan products. During the recent housing bubble the variety of mortgage products and features proliferated. The recent mortgage foreclosure crisis leads many commentators to point to the growth in the use...