How Do Consumers Avoid Penalty Fees? Evidence from Credit Cards
利用多家信用卡发行商的数据，研究发现最常见的滞纳金在开卡后几个月内大幅下降，这完全是因为部分消费者在经历一次逾期后改用自动支付，从而避免未来罚金；而坚持手动支付的用户即使流动性充足，罚金概率仍居高不下。
Using data from multiple card issuers, we show that the most common penalty fee type incurred by credit card holders, late payment fees, declines sharply over the first few months of card life. This phenomenon is wholly due to some consumers adopting automatic payments after a late payment event, thereby insuring themselves against future late payment fees. Nonadopters, who remain on manual-only payments, experience an unchanged high likelihood of future fees, despite exhibiting ample levels of available liquidity. Our results show that heterogeneity in adopting account management features of financial products, such as automatic payments, is important for understanding who avoids financial mistakes. This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance.