Consumer Finance

This report is part of a quarterly series on key observations from the Labor, Income, Finances, and Expectations (LIFE) Survey. Data from the survey provide insight into consumers’ recent financial lives and their future expectations.

WP 25-23 – Prices have reached record-high levels, and inflation is one of the primary concerns for consumers worldwide. Interestingly, changes in prices are in part a self-fulfilling prophecy: if consumers expect prices to rise, prices will rise.

WP 25-22 – This paper provides evidence of payment sensitivity in household borrowing decisions: Mortgage borrowers respond to the size of the recurring payment as opposed to discounted total loan costs when choosing between loan options.

WP 25-18 – This paper examines the level of a wholesale price — the interchange fee — typically set by a payment card network that influences the distribution of acceptance costs and benefits incurred or received by merchants and consumers.