Working papers

Abstract:

This paper uses survey data from the U.S. to study discouragement in consumer credit markets, defined as households abstaining from applying for credit because they expect a rejection. Discouragement is mainly explained by creditworthiness as perceived by households. Low-credit-score individuals are significantly more likely to expect a credit denial. However, my estimates indicate that about 44 percent of discouraged borrowers would have been approved for a credit card had they applied. A back-of-the-envelope calculation that builds on this counterfactual estimate shows that discouragement leads to a shortage in aggregate credit demand of about 2.7 percent of total U.S. credit card debt. This outcome is explained by the fact that discouraged borrowers, who lack financial sophistication and face larger information frictions, use outdated information about their credit risk when forming beliefs about their prospects in the credit markets. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find a significant decline in the degree of information rigidity due to a new credit reporting policy that facilitated information acquisition by non-sophisticated households.

Work in progress


Publications

Teaching experience

Teaching Assistant - HEC Montréal

Research internship