The Economics of Consumer Credit

Academic research and policy discussions of credit markets usually focus on borrowingby firms and producers rather than by households, which are typically analyzed in terms of theirsavings and portfolio choices. The Economics of Consumer Credit brings together leadinginternational researchers to focus specifically on consumer debt, presenting current empirical andtheoretical research crucial to ongoing policy debates on such topics as privacy rules, theregulation of contractual responsibilities, financial stability, and overindebtedness.The rapidlydeveloping consumer credit industry in the United States is mirrored by that in Europe, and thisvolume is noteworthy for its cross-national perspective. Several chapters compare the use of creditmarkets by households in different countries, while others focus on single country casestudies--including consumer credit dynamics in Italy, the role of housing expenditure in thecyclical pattern of borrowing in the United Kingdom, and the use of credit cards by U.S.consumers--to illustrate general insights. Other chapters draw policy lessons from the U.S.experience with bankruptcy regulation and the development of the credit counseling industry.Finally, the book reviews historical, theoretical, and empirical aspects of information sharing, ofparticular interest in light of the integration of European Union credit markets.Contributors:CarolC. Bertaut, Giuseppe Bertola, Sarah Bridges, Luca Casolaro, Jonathan Crook, Richard Disney, LeonardoGambacorta, Charles Grant, Luigi Guiso, Michael Haliassos, Andrew Henley, Robert M. Hunt, TullioJappelli, Nicola Jentzsch, Marco Pagano, Amparo San Jose Riestra, Michael Staten, Michelle J.White

Richard Disney is Professor of Economics at the University of Nottingham and Research Fellow at the Institute of Fiscal Studies, London.