Consumer Debt and Social Exclusion in Europe

by Geraint Howells, Hans W Micklitz, Irina Domurath

Overview

This book analyses the dichotomy between the goal of social inclusion and the effect of social exclusion through over-indebtedness since 2008 in Europe. Filling a vital gap in the current literature on the effects of the financial and economic crisis, this volume puts into context academic discussion with the real-life dimension of over-indebtedness. Reports from six European countries provide socio-economic and legal information on over-indebtedness as well as the regulatory and judicial responses to the problems entailed by over-indebtedness. They form the empirical background for five analyses of different aspects of the inclusion-exclusion dichotomy.

It becomes clear that in the context of credit expansion, individual over-indebtedness has turned into a social issue, which the current design of the consumer credit and mortgage system in Europe has helped to produce while disregarding the consequential danger of social exclusion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472449054
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	07/28/2015
Series:	Markets and the Law
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Hans-W. Micklitz is Professor of Economic Law, European University Institute, Italy. He also holds the position of Jean Monnet Chair of Private Law and European Economic Law at the University of Bamberg, Germany.

Irina Domurath is a PhD fellow at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Iceland. She researches the interaction between risk, vulnerability, and over-indebtedness.

Table of Contents

Contents: Part I The Framework: Introduction, Irina Domurath and Hans-W. Micklitz; The design of consumer and mortgage credit law in the European system, Guido Comparato. Part II The Country Reports: Country report Greece, Georgios Mentis and Katerina Pantazatou; Country report Portugal, Catarina Frade and Mariana Pinheiro Almeida; Country report Spain, Pablo Gutiérrez de Cabiedes and Marta Cantero Gamito; Country report Hungary, Mónika Józon; Country report Iceland, M. Elvira Méndez Pinedo and Irina Domurath; Country report Romania, Beatrice Andresan-Grigoriu and Madalina Moraru. Part III The Different Issues of Over-Indebtedness: Over-indebtedness and its causes across European countries, Elaine Kempson; A map of responsible lending and responsible borrowing in the EU and suggestions for a stronger legal framework to prevent over-indebtedness of European consumers, Irina Domurath; The role of credit bureaus in globalised economies: why they matter less than we think and how they can matter more, Akos Rona-Tas; Two cheers for Europe: austerity, mortgage foreclosures and personal insolvency policy in the EU, Iain Ramsay; Conclusions: consumer over-indebtedness and consumer insolvency - from micro to macro, Hans-W. Micklitz. Index.