This setting lets you change the way you view articles. You can choose to have articles open in a dialog window, a new tab, or directly in the same window.
Open in Dialog
Open in New Tab
Open in same window

Journal of Economic Literature: Vol. 50 No. 2 (June 2012)

JEL Volume. 50, Issue 2 | leftPrevious ArticleNext Articleright

Expand

Quick Tools:

Print Article Summary Email Link to this Article Export Citation
Sign up for Email Alerts Follow us on Twitter Subscription Information
(Institutional Administrator Access)

Explore:

JEL - All Issues

JEL Forthcoming Articles JEL Indexes (Members Only)

Consumer Protection and Contingent Charges

Article Citation

Armstrong, Mark, and John Vickers. 2012. "Consumer Protection and Contingent Charges." Journal of Economic Literature, 50(2): 477-93.

DOI: 10.1257/jel.50.2.477

Abstract

Contingent charges for financial services, such as fees for unauthorized overdrafts, are often controversial. We study the economics of contingent charges in a stylized setting with naive and sophisticated consumers. We contrast situations where the naive benefit from the presence of sophisticated consumers with situations where competition works to subsidize the sophisticated at the expense of the naive, arguably unfairly. The case for regulatory intervention in these situations depends in good part, but not only, on the weight placed on distributional concerns. The economic and legal issues at stake are well illustrated by a case on bank charges recently decided by the U.K. Supreme Court. (JEL D14, D18, G21, G28, L51)

Article Full-Text Access

Full-text Article

Authors

Armstrong, Mark (U Oxford)
Vickers, John (U Oxford)

JEL Classifications

D14: Personal Finance
D18: Consumer Protection
G21: Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
G28: Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation
L51: Economics of Regulation


Journal of Economic Literature



AEA Member Login:


Quick Tools:

Email Link to this Issue

Sign up for Email Alerts

Follow us on Twitter

Subscription Information
(Institutional Administrator Access)

Explore:

JEL - All Issues

JEL - Forthcoming Articles

JEL Indexes (Members Only)

AEA Journals

Virtual Field Journals

AEAweb | AEA Journals | Contact Us