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Debt Collection Agencies and the Supply of Consumer Credit

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  • Viktar Fedaseyeu

Abstract

This paper finds that stricter laws regulating third-party debt collection reduce the number of third-party debt collectors, lower the recovery rates on delinquent credit card loans, and lead to a modest decrease in the openings of new revolving lines of credit. Further, stricter third-party debt collection laws are associated with fewer consumer lawsuits against third-party debt collectors but not with a reduction in the overall number of consumer complaints. Overall, stricter third-party debt collection laws appear to restrict access to new revolving credit but have an ambiguous effect on the nonpecuniary costs that the debt collection process imposes on borrowers.

Suggested Citation

  • Viktar Fedaseyeu, 2020. "Debt Collection Agencies and the Supply of Consumer Credit," Working Papers 20-06, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpwp:87462
    DOI: 10.21799/frbp.wp.2020.06
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    Cited by:

    1. Adrien Auclert & Will S. Dobbie & Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, 2019. "Macroeconomic Effects of Debt Relief: Consumer Bankruptcy Protections in the Great Recession," NBER Working Papers 25685, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Distaso, Walter & Roccazzella, Francesco & Vrins, Frédéric, 2023. "Business cycle and realized losses in the consumer credit industry," LIDAM Discussion Papers LFIN 2023007, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain Finance (LFIN).
    3. Lukasz A. Drozd & Ricardo Serrano-Padial, 2013. "Modeling the credit card revolution: the role of debt collection and informal bankruptcy," Working Papers 13-12, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    4. Viktar Fedaseyeu & Robert M. Hunt, 2014. "The economics of debt collection: enforcement of consumer credit contracts," Working Papers 14-7, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    5. LaVoice, Jessica & Vamossy, Domonkos F., 2024. "Racial disparities in debt collection," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    6. Julia Fonseca, 2023. "Less Mainstream Credit, More Payday Borrowing? Evidence from Debt Collection Restrictions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 78(1), pages 63-103, February.
    7. Pattison, Nathaniel, 2020. "Consumption smoothing and debtor protections," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    8. Fabio Schiantarelli & Massimiliano Stacchini & Philip E. Strahan, 2020. "Bank Quality, Judicial Efficiency, and Loan Repayment Delays in Italy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(4), pages 2139-2178, August.
    9. Satyajit Chatterjee, 2010. "An Equilibrium Model of the Timing of Bankruptcy Filings," 2010 Meeting Papers 1282, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    10. Lukasz A. Drozd & Ricardo Serrano-Padial, 2017. "Modeling the Revolving Revolution: The Debt Collection Channel," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(3), pages 897-930, March.
    11. Igor Livshits, 2015. "Recent Developments In Consumer Credit And Default Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 594-613, September.
    12. Fabio Schiantarelli & Massimiliano Stacchini & Philip E. Strahan, 2017. "Bank quality, judicial efficiency and borrower runs: loan repayment delays in Italy," IFC Bulletins chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Uses of central balance sheet data offices' information, volume 45, Bank for International Settlements.
    13. Xie, Jiaping & Wei, Lihong & Zhu, Weijun & Zhang, Weisi, 2021. "Platform supply chain pricing and financing: Who benefits from e-commerce consumer credit?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    14. Julia Fonseca & Katherine Strair & Basit Zafar, 2017. "Access to credit and financial health: evaluating the impact of debt collection," Staff Reports 814, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    15. Romeo, Charles & Sandler, Ryan, 2021. "The effect of debt collection laws on access to credit," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    16. Arbel, Yonathan A., 2016. "Shielding of assets and lending contracts," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 26-35.
    17. Johannes Kriebel & Kevin Yam, 2020. "Forecasting recoveries in debt collection: Debt collectors and information production," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(3), pages 537-559, June.
    18. Pamela A. Tongo & Deogracia B. Corpuz & Leonora L. Caminade, 2017. "Factors Affecting the Collection Efficiency of Ma-a Parish Multi-PurposeCooperative: Basis for Policy Formulation," International Journal of Business and Economic Affairs (IJBEA), Sana N. Maswadeh, vol. 2(4), pages 240-252.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    household finance; consumer credit; creditor rights; contract enforcement; debt collection; law and finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D18 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Protection
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • K35 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Personal Bankruptcy Law

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