We define predatory lending as a welfare-reducing provision of credit. Using a textbook model, we show that lenders profit if they can tempt households into "debt traps," that is, overborrowing and delinquency. We then test whether payday lending fits our definition of predatory. We find that in states with higher payday loan limits, less educated households and households with uncertain income are less likely to be denied credit, but are not more likely to miss a debt payment. Absent higher delinquency, the extra credit from payday lenders does not fit our definition of predatory. Nevertheless, it is expensive. On that point, we find somewhat lower payday prices in cities with more payday stores per capita, consistent with the hypothesis that competition limits payday loan prices.
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Markus K. Brunnermeier & Jonathan A. Parker, 2004.
"Optimal Expectations,"
NBER Working Papers
10707, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Markus K. Brunnermeier & Jonathan A. Parker, 2002.
"Optimal Expectations,"
Working Papers
146, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Discussion Papers in Economics..
[Downloadable!]
Markus K. Brunnermeier & Jonathan A. Parker, 2005.
"Optimal Expectations,"
American Economic Review,
American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1092-1118, September.
[Downloadable!]
Stefano DellaVigna & M. Daniele Paserman, 2004.
"Job Search and Impatience,"
NBER Working Papers
10837, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)
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