IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbfina/v106y2019icp166-179.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of interest rate ceilings on households’ credit access: Evidence from a 2013 Chilean legislation

Author

Listed:
  • Madeira, Carlos

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of a legislation introduced in Chile in 2013, which gradually reduced the maximum legal interest rate for consumer loans from 54% to 36%. Using a representative sample of households that matches survey data and banking loan records, I compare consumers with risk-adjusted interest rates slightly above and slightly below the legal interest rate ceiling, two groups of similar characteristics but who are differently affected by the law. After accounting for both macroeconomic shocks and unobserved household heterogeneity, the results show that being above the interest rate cap reduces the probability of credit access by 8.7% on average. A counterfactual exercise shows that the new legislation excluded 9.7% of the borrowers from banking consumer loans. The law’s impact was strongest on the youngest, least educated and poorest families. Finally, I show that the new law affected all lenders of consumer loans in Chile, not just banks.

Suggested Citation

  • Madeira, Carlos, 2019. "The impact of interest rate ceilings on households’ credit access: Evidence from a 2013 Chilean legislation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 166-179.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:106:y:2019:i:c:p:166-179
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2019.06.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378426619301463
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2019.06.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Orazio P. Attanasio & Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Ekaterini Kyriazidou, 2008. "Credit Constraints In The Market For Consumer Durables: Evidence From Micro Data On Car Loans," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 49(2), pages 401-436, May.
    2. Maimbo, Samuel Munzele & Henriquez Gallegos, Claudia Alejandra, 2014. "Interest rate caps around the world: still popular, but a blunt instrument," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7070, The World Bank.
    3. Dimitris Christelis & Michael Ehrmann & Dimitris Georgarakos, 2021. "Exploring Differences in Household Debt across the United States and Euro Area Countries," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(2-3), pages 477-501, March.
    4. Edelberg, Wendy, 2006. "Risk-based pricing of interest rates for consumer loans," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(8), pages 2283-2298, November.
    5. Orazio P. Attanasio & Guglielmo Weber, 2010. "Consumption and Saving: Models of Intertemporal Allocation and Their Implications for Public Policy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(3), pages 693-751, September.
    6. Zinman, Jonathan, 2010. "Restricting consumer credit access: Household survey evidence on effects around the Oregon rate cap," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 546-556, March.
    7. Kristopher Gerardi & Kyle F. Herkenhoff & Lee E. Ohanian & Paul S. Willen, 2018. "Can’t Pay or Won’t Pay? Unemployment, Negative Equity, and Strategic Default," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(3), pages 1098-1131.
    8. Greer, Douglas F, 1975. "Rate Ceilings and Loan Turndowns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 30(5), pages 1376-1383, December.
    9. Glaeser, Edward L & Scheinkman, Jose, 1998. "Neither a Borrower nor a Lender Be: An Economic Analysis of Interest Restrictions and Usury Laws," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 1-36, April.
    10. Carlos Madeira, 2019. "Computing population weights for the EFH survey," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 22(1), pages 004-026, April.
    11. Alejandro Jara & Juan-Francisco Martínez & Daniel Oda, 2017. "Bank’s Lending Growth in Chile: The Role of the Senior Loan Officers Survey," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 802, Central Bank of Chile.
    12. Carlos Madeira & Basit Zafar, 2015. "Heterogeneous Inflation Expectations and Learning," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(5), pages 867-896, August.
    13. Brian T. Melzer, 2011. "The Real Costs of Credit Access: Evidence from the Payday Lending Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(1), pages 517-555.
    14. Mathias Dewatripont & Jean Tirole, 1994. "The prudential regulation of banks," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/9539, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Rob Alessie & Stefan Hochguertel & Guglielmo Weber, 2005. "Consumer Credit: Evidence From Italian Micro Data," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(1), pages 144-178, March.
    16. Donald P. Morgan & Michael R. Strain & Ihab Seblani, 2012. "How Payday Credit Access Affects Overdrafts and Other Outcomes," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44, pages 519-531, March.
    17. Oren Rigbi, 2013. "The Effects of Usury Laws: Evidence from the Online Loan Market," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1238-1248, October.
    18. Madeira, Carlos, 2019. "Measuring the covariance risk of consumer debt portfolios," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 21-38.
    19. Carlos Madeira, 2015. "Motivaciones del Endeudamiento en las Familias Chilenas," Notas de Investigación Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 18(1), pages 90-106, April.
    20. Madeira, Carlos, 2018. "Explaining the cyclical volatility of consumer debt risk using a heterogeneous agents model: The case of Chile," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 209-220.
    21. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    22. David S. Lee & Thomas Lemieux, 2010. "Regression Discontinuity Designs in Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 281-355, June.
    23. Morse, Adair, 2011. "Payday lenders: Heroes or villains?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(1), pages 28-44, October.
    24. Carlos Madeira, 2015. "Identification of Earning Dynamics using Rotating Samples over Short Periods: The Case of Chile," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 754, Central Bank of Chile.
    25. Will Dobbie & Paige Marta Skiba, 2013. "Information Asymmetries in Consumer Credit Markets: Evidence from Payday Lending," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 256-282, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carlos Madeira, 2019. "Computing population weights for the EFH survey," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 22(1), pages 004-026, April.
    2. Carlos Madeira, 2022. "The double impact of deep social unrest and a pandemic: Evidence from Chile," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 135-171, February.
    3. Sof'a Gallardo & Carlos Madeira, 2022. "The role of financial surveys for economic research and policy making in emerging markets," Chapters, in: Duc K. Nguyen (ed.), Handbook of Banking and Finance in Emerging Markets, chapter 36, pages 676-686, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Carlos Madeira, 2020. "The impact of information laws on consumer credit access: evidence from Chile," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 873, Central Bank of Chile.
    5. Walter Cuba & Eduardo Diaz, 2023. "Effect of caps on interest rates in Peru," IHEID Working Papers 02-2023, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    6. Juan Sebastian Cubillos-Rocha & Juliana Gamboa-Arbelaez & Luis Fernando Melo-Velandia & Sara Restrepo-Tamayo & Maria Jose Roa-Garcia & Mauricio Villamizar-Villegas, 2021. "Effects of interest rate caps on credit access," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 117-139, December.
    7. Lemus, Antonio & Pulgar, Carlos, 2021. "Households’ Debt Thresholds: A Market Aspects Approach," MPRA Paper 106958, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Madeira, Carlos, 2021. "The potential impact of financial portability measures on mortgage refinancing: Evidence from Chile," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    9. Evlakhova, Yu. & Alifanova, E. & Tregubova, A., 2021. "Banks behavior patterns as a response to the population financial activity in the macroeconomic shocks in Russia," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 50(2), pages 74-95.
    10. Carlos Madeira, 2023. "Use of Financial Instruments among the Chilean households," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 974, Central Bank of Chile.
    11. Madeira, Carlos, 2021. "The long term impact of Chilean policy reforms on savings and pensions," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    12. Calice,Pietro & Diaz Kalan,Federico Alfonso & Masetti,Oliver, 2020. "Interest Rate Repression : A New Database," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9457, The World Bank.
    13. Jorge Pozo, 2022. "Interest Rate Caps in an Economy with Formal and Informal Credit Markets," IHEID Working Papers 16-2022, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    14. Emre Alper & Benedict Clements & Niko Hobdari & Rafel Moya Porcel, 2020. "Do interest rate controls work? Evidence from Kenya," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 910-926, August.
    15. Ran Tao & Jiayue Chai & Bikash Koli Dey, 2022. "A Three-Stage Game Analysis of Private Lending Rate Ceiling: Necessity, Impact, and Solution," Advances in Operations Research, Hindawi, vol. 2022, pages 1-9, August.
    16. Madeira, Carlos, 2023. "The evolution of consumption inequality and risk-insurance in Chile," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    17. Madeira, Carlos, 2022. "The impact of the Chilean pension withdrawals during the Covid pandemic on the future savings rate," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    18. Ryszard Kowalski & Grzegorz Wałęga, 2022. "Regulation of Usury: Justification, Consequences, and Some Lessons from Polish Experience," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 57-73.
    19. María José Roa & Alejandra Villegas & Ignacio Garrón, 2020. "Effects of interest rate caps on microcredit: evidence from a natural experiment in Bolivia," Development Research Working Paper Series 03/2020, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carlos Madeira, 2022. "The double impact of deep social unrest and a pandemic: Evidence from Chile," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 135-171, February.
    2. Jonathan Zinman, 2014. "Consumer Credit: Too Much or Too Little (or Just Right)?," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(S2), pages 209-237.
    3. Dasgupta, Kabir & Mason, Brenden J., 2020. "The effect of interest rate caps on bankruptcy: Synthetic control evidence from recent payday lending bans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    4. Madeira, Carlos, 2021. "The potential impact of financial portability measures on mortgage refinancing: Evidence from Chile," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    5. Neil Bhutta & Jacob Goldin & Tatiana Homonoff, 2016. "Consumer Borrowing after Payday Loan Bans," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(1), pages 225-259.
    6. J. Brandon Bolen & Gregory Elliehausen & Thomas W. Miller, 2020. "Do Consumers Need More Protection From Small‐Dollar Lenders? Historical Evidence And A Roadmap For Future Research," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(4), pages 1577-1613, October.
    7. Madeira, Carlos, 2019. "Measuring the covariance risk of consumer debt portfolios," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 21-38.
    8. María José Roa & Alejandra Villegas & Ignacio Garrón, 2020. "Effects of interest rate caps on microcredit: evidence from a natural experiment in Bolivia," Development Research Working Paper Series 03/2020, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.
    9. Fekrazad, Amir, 2020. "Impacts of interest rate caps on the payday loan market: Evidence from Rhode Island," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    10. Daniel Bjorkegren & Joshua Blumenstock & Omowunmi Folajimi-Senjobi & Jacqueline Mauro & Suraj R. Nair, 2022. "Instant Loans Can Lift Subjective Well-Being: A Randomized Evaluation of Digital Credit in Nigeria," Papers 2202.13540, arXiv.org.
    11. Francisco Gomes & Michael Haliassos & Tarun Ramadorai, 2021. "Household Finance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(3), pages 919-1000, September.
    12. Carlos Madeira, 2020. "The impact of information laws on consumer credit access: evidence from Chile," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 873, Central Bank of Chile.
    13. James R. Barth & Jitka Hilliard & John S. Jahera & Kang B. Lee & Yanfei Sun, 2020. "Payday lending, crime, and bankruptcy: Is there a connection?," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 1159-1177, December.
    14. Eoin McLaughlin & Rowena Pecchenino, 2022. "Fringe banking and financialization: Pawnbroking in pre‐famine and famine Ireland," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 903-931, August.
    15. Cuffe, Harold E. & Gibbs, Christopher G., 2017. "The effect of payday lending restrictions on liquor sales," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 132-145.
    16. Bernardus Van Doornik & Armando Gomes & David Schoenherr & Janis Skrastins, 2021. "Financial Access and Labor Market Outcomes: evidence from credit lotteries," Working Papers Series 547, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    17. Bernardus F Nazar Van Doornik & Armando Gomes & David Schoenherr & Janis Skrastins, 2023. "Financial access and labor market outcomes: evidence from credit lotteries," BIS Working Papers 1071, Bank for International Settlements.
    18. James Barth & Jitka Hilliard & John Jahera, 2015. "Banks and Payday Lenders: Friends or Foes?," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 21(2), pages 139-153, May.
    19. Wang, Jialan & Burke, Kathleen, 2022. "The effects of disclosure and enforcement on payday lending in Texas," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 489-507.
    20. Thomas A. Hemphill, 0. "The small-dollar loan industry: a new era of regulatory reform—and emerging competition?," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 0, pages 1-11.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Consumer credit; Default risk; Interest rate ceilings; Usury laws;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D18 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Protection
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:106:y:2019:i:c:p:166-179. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbf .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.