Over the past several years, young consumers have amassed increasing amounts of credit card debt – debt that many of them cannot afford to repay. Card companies' aggressive solicitation efforts have contributed to this growing problem, as have their common practice of extending credit to young...

A private ordering regime has developed within the payment card industry to define appropriate security practices and to monitor compliance by network participants. Market demands for trustworthy systems upon which consumers and merchants could rely provide incentives for security, which the...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has submitted the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 to Congress for the purpose of overhauling consumer financial regulation. This study has examined the likely effect of the Act on the availability of credit to American consumers. To do so we...

As part of its overhaul of financial services regulation the Obama Administration has proposed stronger protection of consumers of financial products and services. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 (CFPA Act), which the Administration submitted to the U.S. Congress on June 30,...

This is an online appendix for the paper 'Does Opening Complaints Data Change Company and Consumer Behavior? Evidence from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau'.The abstract for the main paper is available here: 'http://ssrn.com/abstract=2929790' http://ssrn.com/abstract=2929790

I analyze a technological change which improved the public monitoring of financial customer treatment. This major assessment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is based on its exposing credit card-related complaints online while keeping mortgage-related complaints concealed. Exposed...

The chapter reconceptualizes financial innovation. In this context, it discusses the risks of financial innovation and contemporary regulatory reforms addressing those risks. It provides a critique of contemporary reforms. Finally, it stresses the need for a new framework to regulate financial...

We examine the impact of consumer protection laws on loan terms and outcomes in auto financing. We find that dealers strategically adjust contracts such that similar borrowers face the same monthly payments in states with and without interest rate limits. However, monthly payments are higher in...

From a political economy perspective, this book chapter uses the Taiwanese case study to shed light on the significant questions about how best to design economic “safety valves”, especially on the periphery of the financial system. These issues are raised in the seminal paper by Professor...