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Factors Influencing People’s Willingness to Shift Their Electricity Consumption Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2024-03-26 M. Hardmeier, A. Berthold, M. Siegrist
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Putting a New ‘Spin’ on Energy Information: Measuring the Impact of Reframing Energy Efficiency Information on Tumble Dryer Choices in a Multi-country Experiment Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2024-02-03
Abstract It has been shown that consumers often underinvest in energy efficiency despite net benefits over the longer term. One possible explanation is that they do not properly understand energy information when provided in physical units, as in most energy labels. Prior studies have investigated the effect of reframing energy information into monetary units. Outcomes are mixed, and it is unclear
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Neuromarketing and Eye-Tracking Technologies Under the European Framework: Towards the GDPR and Beyond Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2024-01-26
Abstract The Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons regarding the processing of personal data (GDPR) is one of the key fundamental pieces of European legislation to protect human rights and freedoms. However, the development of AI systems that are capable of collecting and processing large amounts of data and predicting user habits and emotional states has affected traditional
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Acceptance of Low-Carbon School Meals with and without Information—A Controlled Intervention Study Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-12-26 E. André, P. Eustachio Colombo, L. Schäfer Elinder, J. Larsson, M. Hunsberger
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A Theory of Exploitation for Consumer Law: Online Choice Architectures, Dark Patterns, and Autonomy Violations Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-12-15 M. Brenncke
Commercial practices that exploit consumer behavioural biases (behavioural exploitation) are an increasingly prevalent issue in online choice architectures. EU policymakers have started to expressly regulate such practices. What remains unclear about this type of regulation is when an online choice architecture exploits biased consumers. What is the legal meaning and significance of exploitation in
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Ethical Considerations When Using Nudges to Reduce Meat Consumption: an Analysis Through the FORGOOD Ethics Framework Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-12-14 L. Lades, F. Nova
Nudges are increasingly used to encourage sustainable and often meat-free diets. Interventions to reduce people’s meat consumption are motivated by concerns about health, animal welfare, and the environment. However, dietary choices are of personal and cultural significance, and not everybody wants to be nudged towards a plant-based diet. Nudging has been criticised for being paternalistic, manipulative
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Global Class Actions: Towards a Blockchain-Based Dispute Resolution System Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-11-25 S. Kaya, E. Şahin-Şengül
Mass injuries caused by the violations of multinational firms are becoming more and more common in today’s globalised economy as goods and services are sold worldwide, and the harm these goods and services cause affects many widely scattered victims in different countries. Even if the same or almost identical factual situations injure consumers worldwide, whether they obtain any remedies varies from
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Real Property Transactions in the Network Society: Platform Real Estate, Housing Hactivism, and the Re-scaling of Public and Private Power Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-10-17 M. L. Roark, L. Fox O’Mahony
Technology is rapidly transforming the landscape of land ownership and housing transactions, creating new types of consumer risk and new regulatory challenges. As markets, legal systems, and housing consumers navigate the new opportunities and risks of “platform real estate” (or “PropTech”), the underlying land laws, policies, and practices that produce the material context and legal framework for
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Nanocosmetics Labelling Framework for Malaysia with Reference to the EU Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-09-27 S. A. Basir, N. A. Hasmin, M. R. Othman, A. B. Munir
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Vulnerability and Essential Services Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-08-23 C. Graham
This paper discusses the development of vulnerability policy in essential services in the UK, the position at present and what the future holds.
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Consumer Vulnerability, Digital Fairness, and the European Rules on Unfair Contract Terms: What Can Be Learnt from the Case Law Against TikTok and Meta? Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-08-11 M. Durovic, J. Poon
Directive 1993/13/EEC on unfair contract terms (UCTD) is one of the oldest pieces of European consumer legislation, formulated before the development of the Internet as the leading marketplace, and still in force, with no major changes since its adoption. As the most significant piece of consumer legislation not substantially amended following the consumer law Fitness Check that resulted in the adoption
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AI, Behavioural Science, and Consumer Welfare Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-07-24 S. Mills, S. Costa, C. R. Sunstein
This article discusses the opportunities and costs of AI in behavioural science, with particular reference to consumer welfare. We argue that because of pattern detection capabilities, modern AI will be able to identify (1) new biases in consumer behaviour and (2) known biases in novel situations in which consumers find themselves. AI will also allow behavioural interventions to be personalised and
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Do Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth? How EU Law Underenforcement Allows TikTok’s Violations of Minors’ Rights Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-07-17 M. Cantero Gamito
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ABC of Online Consumer Disclosure Duties: Improving Transparency and Legal Certainty in Europe Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-07-13 J. Luzak, A. J. Wulf, O. Seizov, M. B. M. Loos, M. Junuzović
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Exploring Consumer Detriment in Immersive Gaming Technologies Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-07-05 R. Hyde, P. Cartwright
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Great Unclear Expectations: A Study on the Defectiveness of Autonomous Systems Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-06-12 C. Polat
Once autonomous systems become more widespread, product liability is expected to be called for help to compensate damages. The defectiveness of autonomous systems as a condition of product liability is difficult to assess. This difficulty becomes more evident in the case of design defects because the consumer expectations test adopted by the EU Product Liability Directive has been criticized for its
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The Potential Impact of E-cigarettes on the Life-Years Lost from Conventional Smoking in the Russian Federation Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-05-05 G. Mzhavanadze, D. Yanin
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“I should” Does Not Mean “I can.” Introducing Efficacy, Normative, and General Compensatory Green Beliefs Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-05-04 M. Penker, S. Seebauer
Compensatory green beliefs (CGBs) denote beliefs that unsustainable behaviours can be compensated for by performing other sustainable behaviours. We propose to differentiate between efficacy, normative, and general beliefs (ECGBs, NCGBs, GCGBs). ECGBs refer to effectively offsetting previous lapses. NCGBs denote feeling morally obliged to make amends. GCGBs refer to trading off unspecified efforts
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Consumer Protection and Trade Governance: A Critical Partnership? Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-04-14 N. V. Ezechukwu
The argument often goes that trade liberalization, amongst other things, leads to lower prices, better quality products, and increased choice for consumers. Yet, in recent years, consumer organizations have renewed demands for the prioritization of consumers in international trade governance frameworks. This article considers these demands and argues that they mask two important points. First, they
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Detecting Greenwashing! The Influence of Product Colour and Product Price on Consumers’ Detection Accuracy of Faked Bio-fashion Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-04-04 L. Ende, M.-A. Reinhard, L. Göritz
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Reducing the Individual Carbon Impact of Video Streaming: A Seven-Week Intervention Using Information, Goal Setting, and Feedback Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-02-13 B. T. Seger, J. Burkhardt, F. Straub, S. Scherz, G. Nieding
This online intervention study examined whether system- and action-related information alone, together with goal setting, or together with goal setting and feedback helps people change their video streaming activities in a pro-environmental way. The participants (N = 92) documented their video streaming activities for one week prior to the intervention (week 1), three weeks after the onset of the intervention
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Consumer Experience of Mistreatment and Fraud in Financial Services: Implications from an Integrative Consumer Vulnerability Framework Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-02-03 H. Lim, J. C. Letkiewicz
This study utilizes the National Financial Well-Being Survey (NFWS) from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to investigate the profiles of American consumers who experience mistreatment or a type of fraud in financial services (compromised accounts). An integrative consumer vulnerability framework was used as the theoretical framework to examine how disadvantaged consumer characteristics
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Sales of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and Cigarette Sales in the USA: A Trend Break Analysis Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-01-16 A. Selya, R. Wissmann, S. Shiffman, S. Chandra, M. Sembower, J. Joselow, S. Kim
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No Consumer Is an Island—Relational Disclosure as a Regulatory Strategy to Advance Consumer Protection Against Microtargeting Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2023-01-14 A. Davola, I. Querci, S. Romani
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The Right to Water and Sustainable Consumption in EU Law Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-12-29 I. Benöhr
The right to water has gathered momentum in recent years in Europe, having become the subject of the first European citizens’ initiative and emerging as a human right. The right to water, however, is in constant, and not always linear, evolution as it faces fundamental trade-offs; on the one hand, access to clean and affordable water is essential to ensure a basic standard of living. On the other,
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The Ring Video Doorbell and the Entry of Amazon into the Smart Home: Implications for Consumer-Initiated Surveillance Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-12-27 K. A. Kelly
In this paper, the implications of the rapidly growing smart home market for “consumer-initiated surveillance” are explored. The author employs the term “consumer-initiated surveillance” to denote the acquisition of new surveillance technologies, applications, and systems by individuals for use in private settings. Through an analysis of mass marketing campaigns for the Ring Video Doorbell from 2013
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Who Can You Trust? Assessing Vulnerability to Digital Imposter Scams Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-12-23 C. A. Robb, S. Wendel
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Financialization and Sustainable Credit: Lessons from Non-Intermediated Transactions? Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-12-07 Y. Svetiev, E. Dermineur, U. Kolanisi
Does increasing access to finance promote human flourishing? And if so, are there pathways to sustainable credit and finance in the face of the perceived excesses of financialization? Can we reform or regulate the financial sector to promote sustainable credit and avoid over-indebtedness? These and similar questions have attracted considerable scholarly and public debate in the aftermath of the 2007
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Ability, Educational Attainment, and Household Financial Distress Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-11-26 N. Luotonen, V. Puttonen, E. Rantapuska
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Consumption Corridors and the Case of Meat Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-09-30 M. Kanerva
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An Analysis of Finnish Debtors Who Defaulted in 2014–2016 Because of Unsecured Credit Products Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-08-13 K. Majamaa, A.-R. Lehtinen
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Rocking the Boat: Loot Boxes in Online Digital Games, the Regulatory Challenge, and the EU’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-07-21 D. Leahy
The loot box, a feature of online video games, contains randomised virtual items of importance to gameplay. Comparisons are drawn between chance-based loot boxes and the legal and psychological definitions of gambling, leading to concerns that the format may be an unregulated form of quasi-gambling. Globally, several jurisdictions have intervened to control the loot box, some applying national gambling
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AI in Search of Unfairness in Consumer Contracts: The Terms of Service Landscape Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-07-18 F. Lagioia, A. Jabłonowska, R. Liepina, K. Drazewski
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Long-term Energy Cost Labelling for Appliances: Evidence from a Randomised Controlled Trial in Ireland Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-05-10 E. Denny
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The Unreliability of Online Review Mechanisms Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-04-12 M. Narciso
Online reviews have an undeniable impact on the market and are an important source of consumer information. From a legal perspective, online reviews actively influence consumers’ decisions to enter into a contract. Moreover, online reviews convey pre-contractual information that consumers find relevant and easy to understand, unlike the pre-contractual information disclosed as a result of EU law–based
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Economics of Consumer Protection: Contributions and Challenges in Estimating Consumer Injury and Evaluating Consumer Protection Policy Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-04-06 J. K. Pappalardo
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Financial Vulnerability, Financial Literacy, and the Use of Digital Payment Technologies Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-03-07 M. M. Naeser Seldal, Ellen K. Nyhus
The purpose of this study is to test the notion that the use of digital payment methods, such as paying with a mobile phone, increases the risk of financial vulnerability. Research from the USA indicates such a relationship, and we study whether this finding can be generalized to other countries. Motivated by recent changes in EU legislation related to financial transactions, we also examine willingness
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Reading a Duty to Provide Accessible Pre-Contractual Information for Consumers with Disabilities into EU Consumer Protection Law Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-02-28 L. Waddington
This paper considers whether a duty to provide consumers with disabilities with pre-contractual information in an accessible format, or in an otherwise personalised format, can be read into EU consumer protection law. Such a duty could be regarded as a particular form of reasonable accommodation. The paper explores this issue in the context of three key consumer protection instruments: the Unfair Commercial
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Influence of European Law on Argentinian Consumer Law Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-02-23 C. G. Sozzo, L. V. Bianchi
This article provides an overview on the social and political contexts of the rise of consumer legislation in Argentina, on the development of consumer law in Argentina and its substance as well as on the potential influence of EU consumer law, the consumer law of other South American countries and from international organizations.
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Private International Consumer Law in MERCOSUR: The Influence of European Regulations on Its Creation Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-02-19 L. Klein Vieira
This article aims to analyse whether the MERCOSUR rules that comprise Private International Consumer Law, in terms of definition, international jurisdiction, and applicable law, were influenced by existing regulations in the European Union, especially the Rome Convention of 1980 and the Brussels Convention of 1968, later transformed into European Union regulations. To do so, the article examines the
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The Impact of Tax Refund Delays on the Experience of Hardship Among Lower-Income Households Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-02-10 O. Kondratjeva, S. P. Roll, M. Despard, M. Grinstein-Weiss
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) provides substantial financial support to low-income workers in the USA, yet around a quarter of EITC payments are estimated to be erroneous or fraudulent. Beginning in 2017, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 requires the Internal Revenue Service to spend additional time processing early EITC claims, delaying the issuance of tax refunds. Leveraging
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Consumer Protection in Peru: Origins, Evolution, and Main Regulatory Influences Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-02-08 C. Carranza Álvarez, O. A. Alcántara Francia
In the following text, the authors address the origins and evolution of consumer protection in Peru, as well as highlighting the main regulatory influences of the current 2010 Consumer Protection and Defence Code with regard to consumer sales (defective products), and the regime of abusive clauses, to which is added a reference to protection of personal data.
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The Car Cushion Hypothesis: Bigger Cars Lead to More Risk Taking—Evidence from Behavioural Data Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-02-05 B. Claus, L. Warlop
Car traffic and accidents involving cars create an enormous societal cost, particularly in terms of negative consequences for public health. Mitigating these effects is a daily concern for public and private institutions and people around the world. At least a subset of accidents is attributable to the amount of risk drivers allow in their driving and in related behaviour like mobile phone use or substance
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Chilean Consumer Law and Policy: A Brief Outlook Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-01-26 V. Andrade
Chilean consumer law and policy has a short but enthralling history. As compared with other jurisdictions such as EU countries, its bedrock is still in formation, particularly pertaining to its envisaged role in the regulatory spectrum applicable to consumer markets. However, this circumstance has not been a serious obstacle to several reforms carried out in recent years aimed at broadening its scope
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Dissemination of Consumer Law and Policy in Brazil: The Impact of EU Law Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-01-22 Marques, C. L., Pfeiffer, R. A. C.
This paper analyses the influence of European Law on Brazilian Consumer Law. It starts by describing the general features of Brazilian Consumer Protection law, including the constitutional dimension of consumer protection, and the introduction of the Brazilian Consumer Protection and Defence Code (CDC). It also highlights product liability, product safety, and product warranties. Some of these topics
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An Introduction to the Issue of Consumer Law in South America Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-01-21 Barata, M. A., Bernstein, L., Marques, C. Lima, Micklitz, H. W.
This Special Issue has a long history. It goes back to a conference in July 2017 organized by Cláudia Lima Marques in Porto Alegre Brazil, the first of the Center of European and German Studies (CDEA–DAAD). Cláudia Lima Marques managed to bring together consumer lawyers from many South American States. From there it was a long way down to find support for a special issue, to incentivize colleagues
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Influences of Comparative Law in Uruguayan Consumer Protection Law Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2022-01-16 Szafir, D., Marks, H.
Uruguay was the last country in MERCOSUR to pass a consumer Protection Law in 2000. The purpose of this article is to analyse the origins and influences of the Law on Consumer Relations in the Uruguayan Legal System, with special emphasis on the impact of EU consumer law, the MERCOSUR Protocol Project, the Brazilian Consumer Protection Code and Spanish legislation. It provides an overview of the basic
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Choice Architectures in the Digital Economy: Towards a New Understanding of Digital Vulnerability Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-12-22 Helberger, N., Sax, M., Strycharz, J., Micklitz, H.-W.
In the digital economy, consumer vulnerability is not simply a vantage point from which to assess some consumers’ lack of ability to activate their awareness of persuasion. Instead, digital vulnerability describes a universal state of defencelessness and susceptibility to (the exploitation of) power imbalances that are the result of the increasing automation of commerce, datafied consumer–seller relations
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In Pursuit of Happiness: Disentangling Sustainable Consumption, Consumer Alienation, and Social Desirability Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-10-27 Chéron, E., Sudbury-Riley, L., Kohlbacher, F.
This study makes a novel attempt to disentangle the complex relationships between making sustainable purchasing choices and happiness, while also considering the key issues of social desirability and consumer alienation. Analysis of data collected via a survey administered to a representative sample (n = 835) of Japanese consumers suggests that making sustainable purchases does indeed have a positive
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A Critical Assessment of the Need for Harmonization of the Legal Framework Concerning Abusive Informal Debt Collection Practices in the European Union Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-08-30 Stănescu, C.-G.
The loss of jobs and the decline in real incomes caused by the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have affected consumers’ ability to repay their debts. These have led to high ratios of non-performing loans (NPLs), which affect the stability of the financial industry and undermine economic recovery. The result has been a need for faster debt enforcement and a drastic increase in abusive
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Neuromarketing, Ethics, and Regulation: An Exploratory Analysis of Consumer Opinions and Sentiment on Blogs and Social Media Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-08-28 Luna-Nevarez, C.
Since its emergence, neuromarketing has generated multiple debates about its uses and misuses, the ethics of this highly sensitive data technique, and the lack of regulation for consumer protection. To explore how consumers perceive neuromarketing, a content analysis of user-generated content (UGC) on blogs and social media was conducted. The main purpose of this research was to identify consumers’
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Book Notes “Law” 3/2021 Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-08-18 H.-W. Micklitz
Gonçalo de Almeida Ribeiro: The decline of private law: A philosophical history of liberal legalism. Hart Publishing, 2019. ISBN 9781509907922. 320 pp., GBP 26.63 This book is a large-scale historical reconstruction of liberal legalism, from its inception in the mid-nineteenth century, the moment in which the jurists forged the alliance between political liberalism and legal expertise embodied in classical
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Book Review: “Consumer Happiness: Multiple Perspectives”, by Tanusree Dutta and Manas Kumar Mandal (Eds.) Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-08-11 H. Kaur,T. Singh
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Learning to Hoard: The Effects of Preexisting and Surprise Price-Gouging Regulation During the COVID-19 Pandemic Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-08-02 Chakraborti, R., Roberts, G.
Theory suggests anticipation of shortages stemming from price regulation can motivate households to stock up more and thereby aggravate the regulation-induced shortage. We test this theory on online shopping searches for two typically store-bought staples: hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Combining (i) interstate variation in type of price-gouging regulation—preexisting versus surprise versus none
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New Perspectives on Green Energy Defaults Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-07-15 L. Mundaca, H. Moncreiff
This paper is an attempt to provide new perspectives on green energy defaults (GED) that promote the purchase of renewable energy electricity (REe) among consumers. We aim to complement existing studies and improve the understanding of GED, particularly when they are less, or unexpectedly, effective. To that end, we run a randomized controlled experiment and take the UK as a case study. We replicate
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A Law and Economics Perspective on the EU Directive on Representative Actions Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-06-12 L. Visscher, M. Faure
This article provides an analysis of the Directive on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers of 25 November 2020. The Directive enables qualified entities to bring representative actions on behalf of the consumer. The article uses a Law and Economics approach to stress the advantages of collective actions as a tool to remedy rational apathy and free-rider
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Double Dutch Finally Fixed? A Large-scale Investigation into the Readability of Mandatory Financial Product Information Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-05-31 D. Scheld, O. Stolper, A. Walter
With the introduction of short-form disclosure documents, financial regulation in the EU emphasizes the use of plain language to facilitate comprehensibility. We evaluate whether these documents and the accompanying plain language guidelines improve the readability of mandatory product information addressed to mutual fund investors. Applying advanced text mining algorithms, we benchmark the readability
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Towards a General Theory of Harm for Consumer Law Journal of Consumer Policy Pub Date : 2021-06-01 F. Esposito
The recent book Consumer Theories of Harm is an important contribution to consumer policy. It is the first attempt to develop theories of harm for consumer law. This essay presents the main arguments of the book (Sections 1 and 2). There are four archetypal scenarios of harm that consumer law should consider: the scam, the lemon, the shock, and the subsidy. Section 3 critically engages with the normative