Do payday lending bans protect or constrain regional economies? Evidence from the Military Lending Act's final rule

Abstract

The 2007 Military Lending Act attempted to ban high‐interest loans to U.S. military members and the 2017 “Final Rule” further restricted access, causing regional shocks in payday lending exposure in counties with a military base. Difference‐in‐differences and dynamic estimators provide mixed evidence on the effect of this payday lending access shock on regional economic outcomes and local business outcomes. However, we consistently find statistically significant reduced entry and exit of firms. Given payday lenders congregate around low‐income and minoritized populations analogously to how they congregated around military bases, these results provide policy implications for more general usury bans.