The History of Consumer Credit

From the early forms of loans to farmers to present day credit cards, consumer credit has always been part of human life and economics. However, ever since the Bible, controversy has reigned as to its legitimacy. It is the history of this controversy that is presented here by the authors. Outlining significant developments in different aspects of consumer credit from the Hammurabi Code through to current questions such as household overindebtedness, they shed some historical light on modern debates.

Autorentext

ROSA-MARIA GELPI is Professor of Economics at the free University of Lille and Vice-President of Cetelem, the first European group specialising in consumer credit. She is the author of many academic articles on monetary history, monetary policy, European monetary union and consumer credit.

FRANÇOIS JULIEN-LABRUYÉRE is a director of Cetelem, responsible for international development and on the board of Eurofinas. He is also the author of a number of economic and social histories of the Charente region of France.

Inhalt
PART ONE: CREDIT FROM ANCIENT TO MODERN TIMES: DOGMA VERSUS PRACTICE Usury in the Ancient World Almsgiving Versus Usury The Two-sided Attitude of the Church The Cleavage of the Reformation The Hypocritical Masks of the Ancien Régime The Contrast of the Enlightenment Towards an Economic Concept PART II: CONSUMER CREDIT IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES: PRACTICE VERSUS DOGMA The American Way European Ways Are We Overindebted? Conclusion Index