Less Mainstream Credit, More Payday Borrowing? Evidence from Debt Collection Restrictions
研究发现，政府限制债务催收会减少主流信贷供给，同时增加消费者对高成本发薪日贷款的需求，揭示了信贷替代效应和监管权衡。
ABSTRACT Governments regulate debt collectors to protect consumers from predatory practices. These restrictions may lower repayment, reducing the supply of mainstream credit and increasing demand for alternative credit. Using individual credit record data and a difference‐in‐differences design comparing consumers in states that tighten restrictions on debt collection to those in neighboring states that do not, I find that restricting collections reduces access to mainstream credit and increases payday borrowing. These findings provide new evidence of substitution between alternative and mainstream credit and point to a trade‐off between shielding consumers from certain collection practices and pushing them into higher cost payday lending markets.