Do deals with debt collectors alleviate consumer financial distress? Using new data linking court and credit registry records, we examine civil collection lawsuits where consumers can settle out of court. Random assignment of judges with different styles generates exogenous variation in the...

A curious and sort of subconscious temptation : the lure of consumer credit -- In the fold of default : living with market attachments -- The discovery and capture of affect : a history of debt collection -- The strategic management of affect : venturing inside the collections company -- The...

We investigate the role of information technology (IT) in the collection of delinquent consumer debt. We argue that the widespread adoption of IT by the debt collection industry in the 1990s contributed to the observed expansion of unsecured risky lending such as credit cards. Our model stresses...

The credit crisis, high fuel costs, job losses, bankruptcies, foreclosures and the failing economy are all contributing to factories closing, job loss and business owners going out of business because they can't get paid. Learn how to take specific steps and use positive action to streamline and...