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Measuring the welfare cost of asymmetric information in consumer credit markets

Author

Listed:
  • DeFusco, Anthony A.
  • Tang, Huan
  • Yannelis, Constantine

Abstract

Information asymmetries are known in theory to lead to inefficiently low credit provision, yet empirical estimates of the resulting welfare losses are scarce. This paper leverages a randomized experiment conducted by a large fintech lender to estimate welfare losses arising from asymmetric information in the market for online consumer credit. Building on methods from the insurance literature, we show how exogenous variation in interest rates can be used to estimate borrower demand and lender cost curves and recover implied welfare losses. While asymmetric information generates large equilibrium price distortions, we find only small overall welfare losses, particularly for high-credit-score borrowers.

Suggested Citation

  • DeFusco, Anthony A. & Tang, Huan & Yannelis, Constantine, 2022. "Measuring the welfare cost of asymmetric information in consumer credit markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 116693, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:116693
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/116693/
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    Cited by:

    1. Braggion, Fabio & Manconi, Alberto & Zhu, Haikun, 2023. "Household credit and regulatory arbitrage: Evidence from online marketplace lending," Other publications TiSEM 9fbc0f2e-26f5-414f-8384-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Marco Bonomo & Tiago Cavalcanti & Fernando Chertman & Amanda Fantinatti & Andrew Hannon & Cezar Santos, 2025. "Consumer Loans, Heterogeneous Interest Rates, and Inequality," Working Papers Series 614, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    3. Tobias Berg & Andreas Fuster & Manju Puri, 2022. "FinTech Lending," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 187-207, November.
    4. Braggion, Fabio & Manconi, Alberto & Pavanini, Nicola & Zhu, Haikun, 2025. "The value of financial intermediation: Evidence from online debt crowdfunding," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    5. Pan, Xiongfeng & Wang, Mengyang & Li, Mengna, 2023. "Low-carbon policy and industrial structure upgrading: Based on the perspective of strategic interaction among local governments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    6. Gao, Hongming & Zhu, Hui & Ma, Haiying, 2024. "Peer effect and funding success: Analyzing friendship networks in online credit markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Cheng, Haoyu & Chen, Zhijun & Qin, Meng & Su, Chi-Wei, 2024. "Mineral resources and Fintech: Catalyzing human capital and sustainable development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Loeser,John Ashton, 2023. "Consumer Surplus with Incomplete Markets : Applications to Savings and Microfinance," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10481, The World Bank.
    9. Di Gong & Steven Ongena & Shusen Qi, 2025. "Information Frictions inside a Bank: Evidence from Borrower Switching between Branches," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 25-10, Swiss Finance Institute.
    10. Yannelis, Constantine & Zhang, Anthony Lee, 2023. "Competition and selection in credit markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(2).
    11. repec:cam:camjip:2501 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Lin, Xiangyu & Zhang, S. Sarah & Zachariadis, Markos, 2025. "Open data and API adoption of U.S. banks," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    13. Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein, 2023. "Empirical analyses of selection and welfare in insurance markets: a self-indulgent survey," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 48(2), pages 167-191, September.
    14. Wenjie Huang, 2025. "The Crystal Ball of User-Generated Content: Indication of P2P Lending Platform Failure," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 507-521, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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