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Journal of Banking & Finance Vol. 30 No. 6 2006

Switching costs and adverse selection in the market for credit cards: New evidence

Paul S. Calem1; Michael B. Gordy2,3; Loretta J. Mester4,5

1 Loan Performance, 188 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105, United States · 2 Federal Reserve Board of Governors · 3 Federal Reserve · 4 University of Pennsylvania · 5 Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Abstract

To explain persistence of credit card interest rates at relatively high levels, Calem and Mester (AER, 1995) argued that informational barriers create switching costs for high-balance customers. As evidence, using data from the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finances, they showed that these households were more likely to be rejected when applying for new credit. In this paper, we revisit the question using the 1998 and 2001 SCF. Further, we use new information on card interest rates to test for pricing effects consistent with information-based switching costs. We find that informational barriers to competition persist, although their role may have declined.

DOI
10.1016/j.jbankfin.2005.09.012
Volume
30
Issue
6
Pages
1653-1685
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref bibtex:phds-export.bib

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