Since opening its doors for business, behavioral economics has played a central role in the CFPB’s regulatory agenda.  Behavioral economists posit that consumers are not rational decision makers and instead have certain frailties or weaknesses that lead them to make decisions that they would later recognize as not in their own best interest.… Continue Reading

The first meeting of the CFPB’s new Academic Research Council, which was held on July 27, 2012, was not open to the public.  In an article about the CFPB’s mortgage disclosure proposals that appeared in the New York Times on August 18, 2012, University of Chicago Professor and Council appointee Richard Thaler noted that he had met with CFPB staff members “last month” to discuss from a behavioral science perspective the CFPB’s proposal to integrate TILA and RESPA disclosures.… Continue Reading