The effect of debt collection laws on access to credit

Charles Romeo and Ryan Sandler

Journal of Public Economics, 2021, vol. 195, issue C

Abstract: Debt collection is an important part of the consumer credit ecosystem, but has received little attention in the economics literature. Regulations on collection practices can protect consumers, but may also lead to unintended consequences if the costs of better practices are passed on to creditors, who in turn restrict consumers’ credit access or raise prices. Using detailed data on new credit card accounts, we study the effects of recent laws and regulations in four states that instituted conduct restrictions. We find that such restrictions reduce access to credit card accounts and raise interest rates, but that this effect is very small.

Keywords: Debt collection; Regulation; State policies; Public policy; Access to credit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:195:y:2021:i:c:s0047272720301845

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104320

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