Handbook of Consumer Finance Research

Debt consolidation...pension givebacks...Social Security under siege...bankruptcies and foreclosures...Americans financial lives are fraught with issues, challenges, and potential threats, in record numbers. This timely and essential work surveys the social aspects of consumer behavior, offering the latest data and original research on current consumer needs as well as identifying emerging areas of research. This accessible volume (which can be read without advanced training in the field) starts with current concepts of risk tolerance, consumer socialization, and financial well-being, and moves on to salient data on specific settings and populations, including healthcare spending and retirement savings, online shopping and e-banking, family finances, and many more. Given the current climate of rising debt, the handbook is instructive reading for educators, researchers, and policymakers who wish to understand better how to help families with the economic problems of our times. It can also serve as a graduate text in economics, finance, consumer science, business, and family studies.