Rawley Z. Heimer
Menu

Research › Consumer credit and debt

Consumer credit and debt

How households get, use, and repay credit, and how early-life conditions, cash windfalls, regulation, and politics shape credit outcomes, studied mostly with individual credit bureau records.

Related terms: credit access, credit scores, delinquency, debt repayment, financial inclusion, credit card regulation, the Credit CARD Act, gerrymandering, credit bureau data.

Published papers

  1. Shale Shocked: Cash Windfalls and Household Debt Repayment

    With J. Anthony Cookson and Erik P. Gilje. Journal of Financial Economics.

    Households that receive cash windfalls mostly pay down debt, and the effect is three times larger for subprime borrowers than for prime borrowers.

  2. Politicizing Consumer Credit

    With Pat Akey and Stefan Lewellen. Journal of Financial Economics.

    When a state’s senator becomes a powerful committee chair, credit access in the state’s minority neighborhoods falls by 7.5%.

  3. Growing Up Without Finance

    With James R. Brown and J. Anthony Cookson. Journal of Financial Economics.

    People who grow up without local banks enter credit markets later and, as adults, have lower credit scores and more delinquent accounts.

Working papers

  1. Fallible Firms: The Economics of Consumer Redress

    With Charlotte Haendler. Working paper.

    Whether consumers get money back after complaining about a financial firm depends more on who complains than on which firm is involved.

  2. Pushing Boundaries: Political Redistricting and Consumer Credit

    With Pat Akey, Christine Dobridge, and Stefan Lewellen. Working paper.

    Consumers lose access to credit when their congressional districts are gerrymandered.

  3. Borrowing Young, Paying Later

    With Allison Cole and Igor Livshits. Draft available on request.

    The Credit CARD Act’s limits on cards for people under 21 raised credit scores and homeownership by age 30 but increased mortgage delinquency.

Guides and policy writing

  1. Navigating Credit Bureau Data: Field Notes for Researchers

    Research guide.

    A practical guide to using credit bureau data in research: what it can measure, its limitations, how to acquire it, and how to merge it with other data.

  2. Geographic Mobility and Consumer Financial Health: Evidence from Oil Production Boom Towns

    With Timothy Stehulak and Caitlin Treanor. Economic Commentary, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

    Residents who move away from oil boom towns after the bust end up with stronger consumer financial health than those who stay.

Other research topics