Shifts in Privacy Concerns Goldfarb, Avi; Tucker, Catherine
The American economic review,
05/2012, Volume:
102, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This paper explores how digitization and the associated use of customer data have affected the evolution of consumer privacy concerns. We measure privacy concerns by reluctance to disclose income in ...an online marketing research survey. Using over three million responses over eight years, our data show: (1) Refusals to reveal information have risen over time, (2) Older people are less likely to reveal information, and (3) The difference between older and younger people has increased over time. Our results suggest that the trends over time are partly due to broadening perceptions of the contexts in which privacy is relevant. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Abstract
An incentivised laboratory framed field experiment with 691 subjects examined the impact of five front-of-pack labels (Multiple Traffic Lights; Reference Intakes; HealthStarRating; ...NutriScore and Système d’Etiquetage Nutritionnel Simplifié) on food shopping within a catalogue of 290 products. Using difference-in-difference, we estimate the between-label variability of within-subject changes in the shopping’s Food and Standards Agency aggregated nutritional score. All labels improve the nutritional quality (−1.56 FSA points on average). NutriScore is the most effective (−2.65), followed by HealthStarRating (−1.86). Behaviourally, subjects react mostly to the extreme values of the labels and not to intermediate values. Nutritional gains are not correlated with higher expenditure.
This study examines the recent emergence of political consumerism in Hong Kong. Given its potential implications, we document the origin and maturation of this development and theoretically explain ...political consumerism from three perspectives: as a response to China's economic intervention, as a form of identity politics, and as a new form of political participation. Drawing on original data collected from a representative survey of the local population, supplemented by interviews with stakeholders from the prodemocracy economic circle, we found that people who opposed China-Hong Kong economic integration and expressed a strong local (as opposed to national) identity tended to support boycotting. People who engaged in political consumerism were active in both legal and radical protests, pointing to the complementary nature of these different forms of activism. Further, by adopting a mediation analysis, we find that support towards the Anti-extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement only partially mediate the effect of the factors on political consumerism, suggesting that they are distinct development despite their shared origins. This article provides a novel perspective on the political polarisation in Hong Kong among consumer markets.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) defines BNPL as either a "pay-in-four" model or a "split pay" model of consumer loan.2 Instead of spending $200 today on those new jeans, the purchaser ...can use a company-like Klama, Afterpay, or Affirm3-to make four payments of $50 spread out over six to eight weeks.4 Often, consumers do not incur an interest payment to accompany these services, though penalties may occur if consumers do not meet their contractual obligations.5 While BNPLs do not typically request credit information before offering their services, they usually reserve the right to pull credit information and report incidents to credit reporting agencies should a consumer miss a payment or otherwise default.6 The average BNPL loan principal was around $135 in 2021 ;7 similar to the average size of a purchase on an American Express credit card.8 While the typical American Express customer can expect to pay between 16% and 24% Annual Percentage Rate (APR),9 BNPL consumers are generally not subject to interest payments.10 Entering the consumer credit scene in the mid-2010s, the BNPL model experienced a significant rise in popularity among consumers and has seen its greatest rise within the last three years.· 11 Though the credit card industry has a significant lead on BNPLs in terms of total transaction volume,12 this massive increase in BNPL usage may indicate a broader shift away from more traditional forms of consumer credit.13 This trend has the potential to create serious consumer credit problems as BNPLs are not currently regulated with the same scrutiny as other consumer finance options.14 Notably, because BNPLs use lending techniques that circumvent modem regulatory schemes, consumers are not offered the same protections that they are accustomed to when working with banks and credit card companies.15 Additionally, the precarious regulatory blueprint guiding BNPL actions allows those institutions to maximize their profits through other, less savory means, like harvesting and selling consumer data or charging exorbitant penalties for missed or late payments.16 While BNPLs may provide a service that some consumers prefer over more traditional consumer credit options, they also subject consumers to significantly more risk, which goes relatively unchecked under current regulatory systems. ...Part IV will propose multiple measmes that, if enacted, would prevent BNPLs from continuing to skirt consumer finance regulations and effectively protect consumers from the various harms they pose. Though the average consumer might require a calculator to find the APR on their own, the equation makes the true cost of the loan rather transparent (presuming all fees are included in the calculation of the finance charge)28 While APR is perhaps a complicated concept, it is prevalent enoughthat modem consumers are able to compare APRs, allowing them to compare the favorability of loan terms without having to do the math themselves.29 B. Dodd-Frank and the Birth of the CFPB TILA's passage in 1968 was not the end of the fight for transparency in consumer finance, however.30 In fact, one of the primary issues that spurred Senator Douglas into action-the rising tide of consumer debt-has only gotten worse since TILA was enacted.31 Credit cards, which did not begin to capture a large portion of the American debt market until well after TILA was enacted,32 now account for over $16 billion of consumer debt in the United States (compared with $1.7 billionfor student loans and $1.5 billionfor motor vehicle loans).33 This seemingly inconsistent result is likely caused in large part by exceptions to the APR standard that were promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board.34 As the Board continues to devise exceptions to the rale, creditors continue to devise creative ways to get around transparent disclosure.35 Sweeping changes finally arrived on the consumer finance scene courtesy of the 2008 financial crisis through Dodd-Frank.36 Dodd-Frank was a vast piece of legislation that tackled several different issues that cooperatively led to the crash in 2008.37 Dodd-Frank regulated the types of investments that banking entities can make38 and provided significant provisions that helped eliminate predatory lending, specifically within the mortgage industry.39 Another of those issues, and most importantly here, was the lack of an agency dedicated to protecting consumers from predatory lending practices; thus, the CFPB was bom.40 The purpose of the CFPB is to "regulate the offering and provision of consumer financial products and services under Federal consumer financial laws. "47 The CFPB has been relatively quiet concerning BNPL thus far, but it has made efforts recently to engage in information gathering to potentially impose regulations on the BNPL industry in the future48 C. The Rise of Fintech Since the dawn of the internet age, and especially since Dodd-Frank and the 2008 financial crises, the technology industry has made a substantial impact on the consumer finance industry.49 Fintech, a portmanteau for "financial technology," is the popular name for the vast industry that encompasses everything from blockchain and cryptocurrency to online banking, payment processing, budgeting apps, and even the Automated Teller Machine (ATM).50 While the name "Fintech" was not coined until the 1990s, the underlying concept-application of emerging technologies to the financial services industry-is deemed to have started near the mid-19th century, when the Atlantic Telegraph Company laid the first transatlantic cable in 1866.51 Experts typically mark the first age of Fintech as starting with that cable and ending one hundred years later with the introduction of the very first ATM in 1967.52 This era is marked
The 2008 Consumer Protection Act (CPA) mandates clear communication in business interactions, emphasising plain language tailored to the target audience. This study explores how Sepedi-speaking ...customers in the banking sector perceive the CPA’s effectiveness, particularly in regard to language rights as mandated in Section 22 of the Act. Through semi-structured interviews with nine participants, three key themes emerged. Firstly, using Sepedi facilitated comfortable communication and informed financial decisions. Participants reported feeling more empowered to make sound choices when information was presented in their preferred language. Secondly, the need for easily understandable documentation was crucial, particularly for those who struggle with legal jargon. Complex language can hinder consumer understanding and disadvantage those with limited knowledge and low levels of literacy. Finally, the study highlights the importance of consumer rights awareness and fair treatment from service providers. Regardless of their language proficiency or knowledge level, all consumers deserve honest and transparent interactions. These findings underscore the crucial role of clear language in empowering consumers and fostering fair market practices.
We build a model of the mortgage market in which banks attain their optimal mortgage portfolio by setting rates and steering customers. Sophisticated households know which mortgage type is best for ...them; naive households are susceptible to banks’ steering. Using data on the universe of Italian mortgages, we estimate the model and quantify the welfare implications of steering. The average cost of the distortion is equivalent to 16% of the annual mortgage payment. A financial literacy campaign is beneficial for naive households, but hurts sophisticated ones. Since steering also conveys information about mortgages, restricting steering might result in significant welfare losses.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, policymakers and scholars have fixated on the problem of "too-big-to-fail" banks. This fixation, however, overlooks the historically dominant pattern in banking ...crises: the contemporaneous failure of many small institutions. We call this blind spot the "too-many-to-fail" problem and document how its neglect has skewed the past decade of financial regulation. In particular, we argue that, for socalled community banks, there has been a pronounced and unjustifiable shift toward deregulation, culminating in sweeping regulatory rollbacks in the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018. As this Article demonstrates, this deregulatory trend rests on three myths. First, that community banks do not contribute to systemic risk and were not central to the 2008 crisis. Second, that the Dodd-Frank Act imposed regulatory burdens that threaten the survival of the community bank sector. And third, that community banks cannot remain viable without special subsidies or regulatory advantages. While these claims have gained nearuniversal acceptance among legal scholars and policymakers, none of them withstands scrutiny. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, community banks were key participants in the 2008 crisis, were not uniquely burdened by postcrisis reforms, and continue to thrive economically. Dispelling these myths about the community bank sector leads to the conclusion that diligent oversight of community banks is necessary to preserve financial stability. Accordingly, this Article recommends a reversal of the community bank deregulatory trend and proposes affirmative reforms, including enhanced supervision and macroprudential stress tests, that would help mitigate systemic risks in the community bank sector.
I present the institutions and incentives of online reviews, including attracting initial reviews, assuring truthful reviews of genuine experiences, and avoiding inflated or deceptive reviews. I also ...explore the competition and consumer protection concerns associated with reviews.
•In Europe individual metering in residential buildings is mandatory.•Over 130 publications are critically analyzed and reviewed highlighting different EU strategies.•Regulation and technologies for ...heat accounting and their potential are discussed.•Gap in terms of technical standards and consumer protection is highlighted.•Suggestions to improve transparency and reliability of allocation rules are provided.
Since 2002, the European Union (EU) has promoted individual metering of energy consumption as an effective tool to improve energy efficiency in buildings. In 2012, the Energy Efficiency Directive has set mandatory the individual heat accounting in buildings when centralized heating/cooling systems are present, when technically feasible and cost efficient. As a consequence, EU Member States adopted different allocation rules mainly due to differences in building stocks and climatic conditions. This measure has led to a series of technical, legal and consumer protection issues which still need to be solved. In this paper, more than 130 publications have been analysed and critically reviewed, highlighting the different approaches adopted in EU Member States concerning heat accounting and the related issues. To this aim, the authors focussed the following subjects: (i) the allocation rules adopted by EU Member States, (ii) the heat metering and sub-metering technologies, (iii) the cost-benefit analysis of individual heat metering and accounting systems. This review is useful for researchers since the existing regulation and technologies for heat accounting and their related potential are discussed together with the analysis of the existing gap in terms of technical standard and consumer protection. Finally, the analysis provides policy makers with several suggestions to improve transparency and reliability of allocation rules.
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