Consumer Finance

Peter Tufano ()
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Peter Tufano: Harvard Business School, National Bureau of Economic Research, and Doorways to Dreams Fund, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts 02163

Annual Review of Financial Economics, 2009, vol. 1, issue 1, 227-247

Abstract: Although consumer finance is a substantial element of the economy, it has had a smaller footprint within financial economics. In this review, I suggest a functional definition of the subfield of consumer finance, focusing on four key functions: payments, risk management, moving funds from today to tomorrow (saving/investing), and from tomorrow to today (borrowing). I provide data showing the economic importance of consumer finance in the American economy. I propose a historical explanation for its relative lack of attention by financial economists and in business school curricula based on historic geographic and gender splits between business and consumer studies. I review the literature in consumer finance, organized by its focus on the consumer, financial institutions, and the government. This work is spread out between economics, marketing, psychology, sociology, technology, and public policy. Finally, I suggest a number of open research questions.

Keywords: household finance; personal finance; consumer behavior; behavioral economics; behavioral finance; retail financial institutions; functional perspective (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 E21 G21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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