Financial literacy education and behaviour unhinged: combating bias and poor product design

The growth of products available in the consumer financial market has provided more choice and formal control over household financial decisions than ever before. Financial literacy education programs are generally assumed to improve consumer behaviour in relation to financial products and services. However, there is scant evidence that demonstrates the causal link between education, literacy and behaviour. Through the use of a sample study, we show that the actions of individuals who are financially literate do not necessarily mean they will demonstrate good financial behaviour. We propose that in order to improve the financial behaviour of consumers, two critical areas need to be addressed. Firstly, the objectives of financial literacy programs should be not only to educate consumers about financial markets and products but highlight to individuals the psychological biases and limitations that they as humans cannot easily avoid. Secondly, the regulation of financial products sold to consumers needs alteration to meet the aim of protecting retail consumers from complex financial products that are confusing, ambiguous and inappropriate. We propose regulation and redesign of product information offerings using techniques employed in ecological interface design models to derive a suitability test for consumer financial products.     

Policy implications

Abstract: In the European Union, the framework of financial services legislation at EU level has been aimed primarily at forming a single market for banks, insurers and other financial services firms. Substantial progress has been made towards this objective. Also, the EU initiatives have stimulated a reappraisal of national regulatory systems. Most of this EU legislation (with the exception of the consumer credit directives) has not had consumer protection as one of its main aims, although it has been assumed that consumers will eventually benefit from a wide choice of financial services providers and from price competition. However, partly in response to consumer pressure, the European Commission is developing a set of initiatives more closely geared to protecting consumers’ interests. Within the context of the EU’s approach, there remain considerable variations in the approach to protecting consumers’ interests in different member states as a result of legal and cultural differences.     

European Union policies and practice

Abstract: Early attempts to build a harmonized legal system for banking and financial services throughout the EU met insurmountable difficulties. The shift towards the single market approach in the mid-1980s has been much more successful in terms of removing the obstacles preventing banks and other financial services organizations from establishing themselves and selling their services wherever they choose throughout the EU. The theory has been that consumers would benefit in terms of wider choice and lower prices, but consumer protection needs have been relatively neglected until recently. The emphasis is now changing, and there is widespread recognition that consumer protection aspects of the marketing of banking and financial services need special consideration. However, there is still an unfinished agenda of consumer issues, including distance selling of financial services, overindebtedness, mortgage credit, better consumer information and improved systems of providing redress.     

Small‐Dollar Credit Lending: The Effect of Financial Burden on Personal Asset Misvaluation

Small‐dollar credit lenders offer consumers quick access to cash in the form of products, such as pawn loans. The consumers who tend to use these small‐dollar credit products are more likely to face financial burden and potential for default—particularly when loan‐to‐value ratios are high. However, the cognitive effects of financial burden can impair financial decision making. If financial literacy educators are to empower consumers, more consumer‐centric evidence is necessary to determine how small‐dollar credit consumers make decisions when purchasing loans. One critical decision consumers make is accepting how lenders value their assets in exchange for credit. Three lab studies assess how consumers facing financial burden value their own assets. We find that, due to cognitive constraints of financial burden, consumers can undervalue functional assets and overvalue symbolic assets. Importantly for financial literacy efforts, however, we show that framing a symbolic asset in terms of other‐benefit construal helps attenuate asset overvaluation.     

Die Umsetzung der EU-Richtlinie über Wohnimmobilienkredite

The Directive 2014/17/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February 2014 on credit agreements for consumers relating to residential immovable property (Mortgage Credit Directive) was complemented by new regulations regarding the assessment of customers’ creditworthiness through the Act Implementing the Mortgage Credit Directive and Amending Accounting Rules (Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Wohnimmobilienkreditrichtlinie und zur Änderung handelsrechtlicher Vorschriften) of 11 March 2016 in the law of obligations (Section 505a ff. Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) and the regulatory law (Section 18a Kreditwesengesetz). Firstly, the dangers of the ‘extraordinary’ monetary policy of the ECB to the real estate market and a possible connectivity regarding the regulatory initiative are indicated. The contribution describes the purpose of the Directive, compares the new principles of creditworthiness assessment with the previous practice and analyses the consequences for banks and potential borrowers. It closes with a critical assessment of the EU wide regulation in this field and specifies approaches concerning a different German implementation in accordance with the Directive.     

Consumer Law and Policy in Kenya

This contribution seeks to examine the consumer protection law and policy in Kenya with a view to understand how consumer issues, such as product safety and product liability, are addressed as well as the remedies for defective goods. It also seeks to understand the available provisions on the safety standards of consumer products, such as mobile phones, by highlighting the consumer issues that arise for mobile phone users with particular reference to the services provided by mobile network operators (MNOs) – i.e., the financial services and products – and how the consumer protection regime has addressed them. It will conclude by examining how the Kenyan consumer law has manifested itself, either by its influence on other states’ consumer laws and policies or the way(s) in which its own laws have been influenced by foreign and supranational consumer laws. References will be made with regard to the influence by the European Commission (EC) Product Safety Directive, the EC Product Liability Directive, the EC Consumer Sales Directive and the EC Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Furthermore, this contribution will highlight the challenges encountered with respect to the achievement of a consumer protection regime in Kenya, as a result of the fragmentation of the law and policies.     

The UK New Regulatory Framework of High-Cost Short-Term Credit: Is There a Shift Towards a More “Law and Society” Based Approach?

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the consumer credit market in the UK has witnessed a proliferation in the number of high-cost short-term credit (HCSTC) providers promising easy access to credit without the complications of credit history. This act of generosity came at a very high price, which on some occasions reached 4000% APR. After refusing for many years to interfere with the credit price and other aspects of the HCSTC business’ practices, the Government since 2014 started to impose certain regulatory restrictions on the sector including a cost cap, January 2015, on what HCSTC providers can charge. This article argues that the FCA’s credit cost cap and other regulatory measures taken since 2014 signify an important shift in the regulatory approach to HCSTC. It argues that the neoliberal ‘law and economics’ theoretical paradigm is no longer the foundation of the regulatory framework. Instead, the Government has shifted towards a Polanyian ‘law and society’ based approach, which is attentive to the vulnerability of HCSTC consumers and consequently more capable of protecting them. This article concludes by arguing how this newly adopted approach can be further advanced.     

The development of consumer protection in Saudi Arabia

The development of consumer protection in Saudi Arabia is of interest for a number of reasons. First, Saudi Arabia presents a unique combination of size, stage of development of the economy and wealth, coupled with strictness of Islamic observance. Second, consumer protection in the Saudi context has received very little attention from researchers. Despite the richness of Islamic teachings on the conduct of business and trade, very little has been written on consumer protection in Islamic societies other than discussions of financial markets and consumer credit and monopoly. This article briefly explores the background to the emergence of consumer protection in Saudi Arabia. Consumer credit and financial markets are excluded from the discussion. Islamic (Shari’ah) law is analysed as a basis for the regulation of consumer affairs; this system of law is then compared in its major outcomes for consumers with legal systems in advanced Western economies. The development of secular commercial law during recent times in Saudi Arabia is also considered as a parallel development to those in Shari’ah. Both strands of development are then set in the context of Saudi Arabia's 5‐year development plans and the changing position of consumer policy issues is tracked through successive plans. The institutional location of consumer policy within the Saudi government system is discussed before finally considering the changing nature of the Saudi consumer and the possible future for consumer protection in the country.     

Verbraucherschutz als Teil der Marktordnung

In market orders, consumer protection is a necessary complement to competition policy in order to secure competition on the merits and the functioning of markets. Insights from behavioural economics show that disclosure obligations may not help boundedly rational consumers and that the standard paradigm of the “responsible and sovereign consumer” has to be modifi ed. “Nudging” and “debiasing” may be instrumental in preserving market freedom, while at the same time helping consumers to achieve desired results.     

Consumer rights of the elderly as vulnerable consumers in South Africa: some comparative aspects of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008

Although consumer protection is not a new concept in South African law, the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) now provides for a much more comprehensive and encompassing mechanism to protect consumers. Consumers are protected, not only in the provision of goods and services, the conclusion of contracts but also in the promotion and marketing thereof. The CPA further provides special protection to a particular type of consumer which is the vulnerable consumer and includes elderly consumers. Importantly, and for the first time in the history of South African law, the consumer is provided with eight core fundamental consumer rights. As this contribution is an attempt to provide an interdisciplinary analysis from a legal perspective, identification of what is considered to be an ‘elderly' consumer, needs to be assessed by referring to relevant empirical studies from both an international as well as South African perspective. The focus of this study is on the protection of the elderly as a category of vulnerable consumers in terms of the CPA. The investigation will attempt to show that the elderly is protected in terms of all eight of the fundamental consumer rights within the CPA. Special reference will be made to two fundamental rights of the consumer in terms of the CPA. First, the elderly consumer's right to equality in the consumer market (Part A of the CPA) which provides additional protection as the CPA also refers to the Constitutional right to equality. Second, the elderly consumer's the right to fair and responsible marketing (Part E of the CPA) which in terms of the research is compared with the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Certain problems regarding elderly consumers are identified and the importance of consumer rights as well as the implementation of the correct consumer policy is argued.     

What’s in a Score? Differences in Consumers’ Credit Knowledge Using OLS and Quantile Regressions

Credit literacy depends, in part, on understanding credit reports and scores. The U.S. Government Accountability Office conducted a study in 2004 to assess consumers’ knowledge of credit reports, credit scores, and the dispute resolution process. This study uses the Government Accountability Office data and estimates a series of ordinary least squares and quantile regressions to identify specific subgroups of the population that could benefit from more targeted consumer policies and financial education. The findings from this research have important implications for consumer educators, financial professionals, and policy makers, especially with respect to national strategies designed to improve consumers’ financial well‐being.     

Financial literacy and the cost of borrowing

This research investigates the relation between financial literacy and the cost of borrowing via credit cards and mortgage loans among US consumers. This is a departure from previous studies that have focused on levels of debt in relation to human capital, either financial knowledge or education. Data from the Consumer Finance Monthly (CFM) survey are used to specifically examine the effect of financial literacy on borrowing rates for credit cards and mortgages controlling for other human capital influences. The CFM is a national survey, rich in American consumer credit information, and includes a comprehensive instrument specifically designed to measure financial literacy. Results indicate that those who are financially literate are about twice as likely to have lower costs of borrowing for both credit cards and mortgage loans.     

A European Perspective on Consumer Loans and the Role of Credit Registries: the Need toReconcile Data Protection,Risk Management,Efficiency, Over-indebtedness,and a Better Prudential Supervision of the Financial System

The paper examines the role of credit registries in the context of European consumer credit markets and the current policies of the EU in this area. It attempts to show the institutional challenges relating to some competing rights or interests amongst consumers and financial institutions and the need for a strengthened prudential supervision of the financial system as evidenced by the recent crisis whose effects have spread into the global economy. In particular, it shows that there is a conflict between the right to data protection of consumers, the risk management interests of lenders, and the prudential supervision of the credit system. The ultimate goal, thus, is to present some weaknesses of the current arrangements and to put forward a proposal that is probably controversial but that is intended to stimulate a debate from an alternative policy perspective that is wider than the current one.     

Making the Market Work: Enhancing Consumer Sovereignty Through the Telemarketing Sales Rule and the Distance Selling Directive

This article analyzes the provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, which the Federal Trade Commission promulgated in 1995 pursuant to the 1994 Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act. The author proposes a framework through which the Rule may be understood as embodying a regulatory strategy of controlling abusive telemarketing by enhancing the effectiveness of market forces. In particular, the Rule works by improving the quantity and quality of information flowing to consumers, preventing the occurrence of transactions that the consumer does not truly intend, preventing telemarketers from evading the effects of market forces governing availability of payment mechanisms, and enhancing the effectiveness of the contract regime.The article then applies the same framework to the 1997 Distance Selling Directive of the European Union, yielding several recommendations that EU member countries may find useful when transposing the Directive into national law. The author also discusses some of the special considerations that EU member countries should take account of when transposing the Directive's requirements in the context of electronic commerce.     

谈我国信用征信业加入WTO后应对欧盟数据保护指令的策略

1998年10月开始生效的欧盟资料保护指令禁止个人资料向不具备欧盟适当隐私保护水平的第三国转移,这一做法无疑增加了中欧贸易的障碍,也不利于我国信用征信业的发展,为了避开禁令限制,根据欧盟指令的让步条款,结合WTO争端解决方式及美欧安全港协议,信用报告使用者、信用征信业和政府各有可行的应对策略。     

Good Consumer Information: the Information Paradigm at its (Dead) End?

The traditional information paradigm postulates that increasing the amount of information and establishing full transparency help consumers with their decisions. We challenge this assumption and address criteria that good consumer information needs to fulfil. Based on the findings from research in behavioural economics and finance, necessary conditions for good consumer information include transparency, comprehensibleness, and comparability, whereas quality—in terms of clarity, fit to personal needs, and verifiability—represents the sufficient condition for good consumer information. Information that consumers currently receive hardly fulfils these conditions which, in turn, considerably hampers the trustworthiness and usability of this information. To mitigate consumers’ information problem and to recover the idea of the information paradigm, we suggest to extend the information model and to integrate the idea of collective consumers, to establish product testing principles, and to implement controlled minimum standard for (financial) products.     

Price Intransparency,Consumer Decision Making and European Consumer Law

Price comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is vital for policymakers to know how transparent pricing is in reality. Commercial practices involving price intransparency can be detrimental to consumer decision making and may be associated with market failure. So, legislative intervention to ensure price transparency is sometimes warranted. Suppliers may disclose and frame pricing information in such ways as to influence consumers. For some suppliers, advantages may be gained by obfuscating price—through practices ranging from the outright hiding of price terms in the small print to subtle ways of throwing in gifts or adding charges during the vending process. Do consumers appreciate the implications of the fact that by framing price in different ways suppliers actually try to influence their demand for products? And how does the law broadly speaking respond to problems of price intransparency? In this article, behavioural science insights are combined with a legal analysis of European consumer law in order to chart some of the detrimental influences of price intransparency on the consumer decision-making process and to answer whether and to what extent European consumer law addresses these issues. In doing so, this article first reviews research from consumer psychology, marketing, and behavioural law, and economics regarding the influence of presentation, framing, and transparency of price on the consumer decision-making process. Subsequently, it describes and evaluates the legal framework offered by European consumer law and how this framework responds to practices of price intransparency. Particular problematic pricing techniques are identified and discussed. In conclusion, attention is drawn to the disadvantages of the increasing full harmonization character of European consumer law for combating price intransparency at Member State level.     

环境管制、产品质量与企业收益——兼论污染罚金政策的使用效率

本文引入消费者效用函数、政府环境管制成本函数、企业生产成本函数,研究了环境管制对企业产品质量和利润的影响。研究表明:(1)在政府财政收入最大化的条件下,政府对企业征收污染罚金是不会让污染生产的企业退出市场的;(2)在政府财政收入最大化、消费者效用最大化和企业利润最大化的均衡条件下,政府征收污染罚金时,会降低产品环境质量;(3)政府加大罚金力度会提高生产清洁产品企业的净收益,而降低生产污染产品企业的净收益,并且清洁生产企业的利润比污染生产企业的利润高;(4)政府如果放弃财政收入最大化目标,对清洁生产的企业予以激励,对污染的企业在说服教育的基础上采用创新弃权书的管制方式,否则即对其征收罚金,这样会使两类企业都进行清洁生产。这些结论表明政府对污染生产企业征收罚金时,重在引导教育并建立激励型生态补偿制度,注重政策的使用效率。     

Policy and practice in Germany

Abstract: In Germany, EU directives have been the primary source of consumer protection legislation in banking and financial services, especially legislation on consumer credit and investment services. Otherwise, there is little significant statute law, either at federal or provincial (Länder) level, apart from a recent Consumer Bankruptcy Law. Most consumer problems have to be solved within the framework of the very general Civil Code or the law on unfair contract terms. This means that there is strong emphasis on the role of the courts in interpreting the law in specific cases. In recent years consumer organizations have played an important part in bringing class action cases in the courts – notably on issues concerned with value dating, bank charges and the early termination of mortgage and insurance contracts. There is virtually no tradition of securing consumer protection through codes of conduct. Banking ombudsman schemes have been set up in recent years, but are subject to some criticisms by consumer organizations.     

Reflections on Consumer Law and Policy in Seychelles

Consumerism only reached Seychelles after a wave of market-liberalization reforms adopted in 2008 as a response to a dire economic crisis. Consumer law is therefore only a recent phenomenon in the country. The main sources of inspiration for Seychelles legislation are the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection, the EU Directive on unfair contract terms, and the South African Consumer Protection Act. Policy initiatives tend to be modelled either on other small island countries or on Commonwealth countries. The formal legal framework is overall modern and in line with international guidelines. However, the article identifies two sets of challenges encountered in practice. First, local standardization efforts fail to address the matter of poor-quality products entering the market, and this lack of local capacity is insufficiently complemented by reliance on international standards. Secondly, consumers seldom rely on the adjudicatory mechanism provided by consumer laws and informal settlement mechanisms are preferred, which comes at the cost of depriving consumer law operatives of precious interpretative materials, leaving areas of legal uncertainty. While policy guidance from the political sphere would be needed, it is unclear how much attention consumer matters will receive in the medium term.