Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Review of Banking & Financial Law
Publication Date
2012
ISSN
0739-2451
Page Number
193
Keywords
pawnshop loans, collateralized loans, rational model of economic decision-making
Disciplines
Banking and Finance Law | Law
Abstract
Pawnbroking is the oldest source of credit. There is growing public interest in day-to-day pawnbroking operations, as evidenced by the popularity of reality shows such as “Pawn Stars” and “Hardcore Pawn.” Television viewers’ curiosity about an old credit institution may be due to the fact that 7% of all U.S. households have used pawn credit. Although pawnshops predate biblical times, researchers know surprisingly little about this ancient form of banking and its customers. We fill this gap by documenting detailed information on pawnshop loan repayment and default, and by discussing how pawnshop borrowers’ behavior is consistent with various behavioral economics phenomena.
Recommended Citation
Paige Marta Skiba and Susan Payne Carter,
Pawnshops, Behavioral Economics, and Self Regulation, 32 Review of Banking & Financial Law. 193
(2012)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/1019