商品簡介
The expansion and democratisation of credit across the globe have been accompanied by sincere and enthusiastic hopes of improving individuals' incomes, smoothing consumption, and thereby reinforcing or stimulating development. However, the overlapping role of credit in reconciling social and economic concerns has become problematic, particularly where markets fail to provide credit efficiently to low-income populations and must navigate the intricate path between over-indebtedness and financial exclusion. Drawing on the tension between these two perspectives, this research analyses the potential harmfulness and limits of consumer credit as a tool for promoting development. Because the poor are those who, when resorting to credit, have few, if any, choices and whose behaviour is not entirely rational, the dogmas of contract law urgently need to be demystified, not only in the doctrinal field but, especially, in practice. As the sufficiency of consumer protection cannot be established merely by examining the books, an analysis of judicial decisions emerges as the best alternative for assessing the effectiveness of protection in reality.
