Charging Ahead

Ronald A. Mann received his JD from the University of Texas where he graduated first in his class and was the managing editor of the Texas Law Review. After graduation, he clerked for judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. After three years in private practice, he worked for the Justice Department for four years as an Assistant to the Solicitor General. Before joining the Texas faculty in 2003, he taught for six years at the University of Michigan and for three years at Washington University, St Louis.

Introduction; Part I. The Basics of Payment Cards: 1. Paper or plastic? - payment system functionality; 2. The mechanics of payment card transactions; Part II. Easy Money: 3. In defense of credit cards; 4. The psychology of card payments - card spending and consumer debt; 5. Over the brink - credit card debt and bankruptcy; Part III. The Puzzle of Payment Cards: 6. Explaining the pattern of global card use; 7. The introduction of the payment card; 8. Revolving credit; 9. Point-of-sale debit; 10. Convergence and exceptionalism in the use of cards; Part IV. Reforming Payment Systems: 11. Indirect approaches: regulating interchange and encouraging surcharges; 12. Contract design; 13. Regulating information; 14. Product design: affinity and rewards programs and teaser rates; Part V. Optimizing Consumer Credit Markets and Bankruptcy Policy: 15. Causation, consumer credit and bankruptcy; 16. Regulating consumer credit markets; 17. Consumer bankruptcy reform; Conclusion; Endnotes; Bibliography; Index.