Philadelphia Fed Policy Forum: The Evolving Credit Economy - Problems and Prospects

The Policy Forum, organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Research Department, brings together a group of highly respected academics, policymakers, market economists, and media representatives who focus on the role of consumer finance in household risk management and college access, and on the promise and perils of artificial intelligence in consumer finance. By invitation only.

Agenda - Download

Opening Remarks
Patrick T. Harker, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Session 1: Consumer Credit, Bankruptcy, and the Social Safety Net
Moderator: Patricia Hasson, Clarifi and Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Board of Directors

• “Consumer Credit and the Labor Market”
  Kyle Herkenhoff, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  
  
  • Background paper: “Can the Unemployed Borrow? Implications for Public Insurance” with J. Carter Braxton and Gordon M. Phillips
    
    
• “Financial Distress and the U.S. Health Care System”
  Neale Mahoney, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
  
  
• “Economic Consequences of Bankruptcy Reform”
  Matthew Notowidigdo, Northwestern University
  
  
  • Background paper: “The Economic Consequences of Bankruptcy Reform” with Tal Gross, Raymond Kluender, Feng Liu, and Jialan Wang

Session 2: College Costs, Student Loans, and the Returns to Higher Education
Moderator: Robert Hunt, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

• “Collegiate Cycles: The Impact of Recessions on Student Enrollment and Post-Secondary Institutions”
  Sarah Turner, University of Virginia
  
  
• “How Often Does the Investment in College Pay Off?”
  Douglas Webber, Temple University and Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Session 3: Promise and Perils of AI/Big Data in Consumer Finance
Moderator: Satyajit Chatterjee, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

• “Some Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence”
  Avi Goldfarb, University of Toronto
  
  
  • Background paper: “The Simple Economics of Machine Intelligence” with Ajay Agrawal and Joshua Gans
  • Background paper: “The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda” with Ajay Agrawal and Joshua Gans
    
    
• “Who Benefits from the Data Economy?”
  Alessandro Acquisti, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University


• Background paper: “The Economics of Privacy” with Curtis R. Taylor and Liad Wagman
• “Making AI Explainable: Credit Risk Management as an Exemplar for Other Industries”
  Peter Maynard, Equifax

Closing Remarks
Michael Dotsey, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia