Consumer Credit on American Indian Reservations

44 Pages Posted: 14 Mar 2014 Last revised: 24 Feb 2015

See all articles by Valentina P. Dimitrova-Grajzl

Valentina P. Dimitrova-Grajzl

Virginia Military Institute

Peter Grajzl

Washington and Lee University - Department of Economics; CESifo

A. Joseph Guse

Washington and Lee University - Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics

Richard M. Todd

University of Minnesota - St. Paul - Department of Applied Economics

Date Written: March 26, 2014

Abstract

Access to consumer credit on American Indian reservations has been a longstanding concern and yet measurement of consumer credit on reservations is scarce and incomplete. This paper draws on a unique large-scale consumer credit database to provide the first encompassing quantitative picture of consumer credit in Indian country. We find that credit files on reservations are somewhat more likely to lack a credit risk score; in our data the Equifax Risk Score. Furthermore, Equifax Risk Scores and the use of certain forms of credit, especially mortgages, are low on reservations. However, usage of other forms of credit is not always low on reservations. Moreover, the gaps in credit usage on versus off reservations differ significantly across states and can change notably over time. Finally, race, age, education, unemployment, income, and the allocation of jurisdiction over legal matters are important predictors of consumer credit outcomes.

Keywords: American Indian reservations, consumer credit, credit conditions, credit usage

JEL Classification: G21, P43, O16, R11

Suggested Citation

Dimitrova-Grajzl, Valentina P. and Grajzl, Peter and Guse, A. Joseph and Todd, Richard, Consumer Credit on American Indian Reservations (March 26, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2408747 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2408747

Valentina P. Dimitrova-Grajzl

Virginia Military Institute ( email )

Department of Economics and Business
Scott Shipp Hall
Lexington, VA 24450
United States

Peter Grajzl (Contact Author)

Washington and Lee University - Department of Economics ( email )

Lexington, VA 24450
United States

HOME PAGE: http://home.wlu.edu/~grajzlp/

CESifo ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

A. Joseph Guse

Washington and Lee University - Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics ( email )

Lexington, VA 24450
United States

Richard Todd

University of Minnesota - St. Paul - Department of Applied Economics ( email )

1994 Bufford Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55108
United States

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