ABSTRACT
Since the 1980s, the ‘financialisation’ of everyday life has transformed the way consumers manage their money. Credit has assumed a central role in the economy and has become an accepted means of funding consumption. During this period, rates of personal insolvency have increased significantly. This phenomenon has not been limited to low-income groups but has been noticeable among ‘middle class’ consumers. Over the same period, new financial products have emerged, often targeting low-income and vulnerable consumers. Professor Ian Ramsay and his colleagues at Melbourne Law School have conducted several major research projects exploring consumers’ experiences of financial hardship and their use of harmful financial products. The authors provide an overview of this research, identifying significant themes, findings, law reform proposals and enduring policy challenges.
O’Brien, Lucinda and Ali, Paul, ‘An Increasingly Middle-Class Phenomenon’: The Causes and Impacts of Financial Hardship in Australia (September 30, 2023), University of Melbourne Legal Studies Research Paper (forthcoming). Published in Rosemary Teele Langford (ed), Corporate Law and Governance in the 21st Century: Essays in Honour of Professor Ian Ramsay (Federation Press, 2023) 214-35.
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