Journal of Consumer Affairs最新文献

Financial education represents a powerful tool for improving economic literacy of citizens. This paper presents results from an experiment providing a group of 136 workers in an Italian university (administrative staff) an online, synchronous course. Classes were organized in 5 sessions of 2h each and covered basic topics about personal finance. The effectiveness of the course is assessed through a rigorous randomized controlled trial (RCT). In addition to the analysis of improvements in financial knowledge, financial self-efficacy and the role of prior attitudes and behaviors were explored. Participants obtained post-test scores statistically higher than individuals in the control group, with an average effect size of 0.55 SD. The effect is particularly relevant for participants starting with low levels of financial knowledge. Moreover, two novel findings emerge: financial self-efficacy increases (0.51 SD) after the course, and pre-treatment individuals' financial attitudes and behaviors shed further light on the financial learning process.

The transition to digital payments is an ongoing trend, yet cash remains important for a substantial and diverse group of individuals. This emerges from a study using rich payment diary data of Dutch consumers. A total of 7% of the respondents report always using cash at points of sale and 28% indicate they cannot do without cash. Cash is especially important for people with low digital literacy, people who are blind or visually impaired, people with limited or no hand function, people with a mild intellectual disability and people who find it difficult to make ends meet on their income. Even though many parties involved in the payment industry are developing their payment solutions to enhance accessibility for a broader audience, there will continue to be people for whom the use of digital payments poses significant challenges. It is therefore essential that cash remains accessible and available.

In recent years, social media applications have grown in number and in user bases. Recommendation algorithms on these platforms refer social others and related content to users. Using Granovetter's tie strength theory and the literature on relationship formation as conceptual foundations, we argue that these social media algorithms can damage a user's ability to establish diverse relationships and the benefits therein, thereby reducing personal, and, when aggregated, societal advantages. We argue that this occurs because the algorithms take on social actor roles and operate as “weak tie imposters” that serve as bridges to like others and content. This work provides a new conceptualization of the role recommendation algorithms play in social relationships, argues how they impact social relationship development and user privacy, and offers potential solutions to the issues related to algorithmic interference.

Federal regulators in 2010 amended lending rules to allow federal credit unions (FCU) to originate short-term, small-dollar amount loans, with an annual percentage rate of up to 1000 basis points above the otherwise imposed interest rate ceiling of 18 percent. The purpose of the change in policy was to allow FCUs the ability to provide their members with an alternative to payday loans. We find the decision to originate these higher-interest loans is primarily influenced by the characteristics of a credit union's environment. Credit unions located in minority neighborhoods and in markets with fewer traditional financial services are more likely to participate in the payday alternative loan program. Participation in the program is shown to improve earnings performance without adversely affecting participants' loan quality. These results suggest credit unions can provide lower-priced alternatives to payday loans that are beneficial to members and their credit unions.

Ethical consumption is important for both consumers and social welfare. However, many consumers avoid or ignore ethical consumption practices. An explanation of the psychological processes that impede ethical behavior is important research. A survey of 436 American consumers reveals that various types of moral disengagement (behavior and victim loci) and neutralization techniques sequentially explain unethical consumer behavior. From a theoretical perspective, both these constructs are relevant in this context, yet prior research utilizes these constructs separately or conflates them. Moreover, findings show that a particular type of moral disengagement, the agency locus, paradoxically promotes ethical consumer behavior. This research also examines locus of control (chance) and trait cynicism as antecedents of unethical consumer behavior. Locus of control (chance), not trait cynicism, leads to less ethical consumer behavior through moral disengagement and neutralization techniques. Insights benefit consumers, marketers, and policymakers in promoting ethical consumption that enhances consumer well-being.

This research investigates whether consumers anticipate any negative financial consequences arising from personalization practices, and examines how individuals respond to messages about its financial welfare implications, to see what factors increase blame toward firms for the impact their tactics can have on vulnerable populations. Results from a pilot study show that while privacy risks of personalization are highly accessible, few consider its potential to influence spending behavior. In addition, experimental studies reveal that individuals are more likely to blame firms for increases in teen consumer spending when they learn how online tactics limit and determine consumer choices, compared with when messages focus on firm's use of personal information. Additional studies also introduce a moderator for this effect. Overall, this research highlights limitations in consumers' ability to consider consequences of personalization, and provides guidance for advocates on how to better educate the public about potential issues associated with online marketing tactics.

Financial literacy is an important life skill, but to date, it is mostly studied on the individual level. To investigate the role of national culture in financial literacy, we analyze data from 20 countries participating in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 financial literacy assessment with four approaches to measuring national culture: Hofstede, Schwartz, Inglehart–Welzel, and Minkov–Kaasa cultural dimension frameworks. This is the first study that links PISA financial literacy scores to these four culture models simultaneously, filling a gap in research on youth financial literacy. We find that culture explains an important part of within-country variance in financial literacy. The results indicate that individualism is positively associated with youth financial literacy scores, with the Schwartz embeddedness dimension remaining consistent after a set of control variables. Therefore, financial education initiatives need to consider in their design and implication the cultural context of the participants.

Sixteen jurisdictions in the United States prohibit payday lending through stringent usury laws or well-established nonprofitable 36% interest rate caps. Yet over one in 10 consumers residing in these jurisdictions borrowed payday loans in the past 5 years. This raises questions about actual policy implementation and enforcement. We employ data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study to investigate if associations between payday lending prohibitions and payday borrowing differ by degree of enforcement. We find that nuances in degree of enforcement among restrictive states are not associated with payday borrowing likelihoods. However, these nuances appear when examining payday borrowing frequency, particularly when controlling for consumers' financial circumstances and when conditioning on alternative financial services consumers. We consistently note the highest borrowing behaviors for states sans regulation. Policymakers may consider strengthening enforcement in cases where the primary goal is preventing or reducing payday borrowing.

We provide updated results about the link between student loan debt and emergency savings with financial stress, and after conditioning for differences in social and personal resources. We use the stress process model framework and data from the 2020 Study on Collegiate Financial Wellness (N = 25,310) to estimate ordered probit regression models. The 2020 data confirm that students report higher levels of stress if they hold more loan debt and have lower emergency savings. Students with higher levels of financial socialization and financial self-efficacy experience less financial stress and experience more stress when they report both positive and negative financial management behaviors. Among student-borrowers, the role of social and personal resources is weakened. The data confirm ongoing financial stress among college students and points to the important role of financial socialization through parents and financial skill in students' ability to cope with financial stress.

In this editorial we outline why a call for more inclusive, conscientious approaches to studying gender/sex/ual diversity and intersectional identities is needed, and how the articles in this special issue answered this call. We summarize key takeaways from a review of the literature, noting significant under-representation of gender/sex/ual diversity and intersectional social locations. We also explore the history of the gender/sex binaries (e.g., female/male; women/men; femininity/masculinity) to help illuminate the premises upon which the popular trend of studying gender/sex differences between men and women and the invisibilities of gender/sex/ual diverse people exist. We conclude with guidance on how scholars and practitioners might engage in thinking, doing, and connecting to move the conversation forward.