Democracy Declined: the failed politics of consumer financial protection (2020)
Featured in The Washington Post Monkey Cage; Reviewed in Perspectives on Politics, American Banker
From the Publisher: As Elizabeth Warren memorably wrote, “It is impossible to buy a toaster that has a one-in-five chance of bursting into flames and burning down your house. But it is possible to refinance an existing home with a mortgage that has the same one-in-five chance of putting the family out on the street.” More than a century after the government embraced credit to fuel the American economy, consumer financial protections in the increasingly complex financial system still place the onus on individuals to sift through fine print for assurance that they are not vulnerable to predatory lending and other pitfalls of consumer financing and growing debt.
In Democracy Declined, Mallory E. SoRelle argues that the failure of federal policy makers to curb risky practices can be explained by the evolution of consumer finance policies aimed at encouraging easy credit in part by foregoing more stringent regulation. Furthermore, SoRelle explains how angry borrowers’ experiences with these policies teach them to focus their attention primarily on banks and lenders instead of demanding that lawmakers address predatory behavior. As a result, advocacy groups have been mostly unsuccessful in mobilizing borrowers in support of stronger consumer financial protections. The absence of safeguards on consumer financing is particularly dangerous because the consequences extend well beyond harm to individuals—they threaten the stability of entire economies. SoRelle identifies pathways to mitigate these potentially disastrous consequences through greater public participation.
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What I’m working on…
Credit & Debt
“Privatizing Financial Protection: Regulatory Feedback in the Credit Welfare State,” American Political Science Review
Winner of the 2020 APSA Best Paper in Public Policy Award
“From Personal Responsibility to Political Mobilization: Using Attribution Frames to Overcome Policy Feedback Effects,” American Politics Research
“Predatory Politics: Race and The Unequal Resource Effects of Credit,” working paper
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Winner of the 2023 APSA Heinz E. Eulau Best Article in IG&A Award
“The Paradox of Policy Advocacy: Philanthropy, Public Interest Groups, & Second-order Policy Feedback Effects,” w/Delphia Shanks, Interest Groups & Advocacy
Winner of the 2022 (inaugural) Jordan-Loomis Best Article in IG&A Award
Featured in 3Streams, Giving Compass
“Partisan Preemption: The Strategic Use of Federal Preemption Legislation,” w/Alexis Walker, Publius: The Journal of Federalism
Featured in The Washington Posts’ Monkey Cage
“The Acknowledgement Gap: Recognizing Social Policy Use,” w/Delphia Shanks, Policy Studies Journal
Winner of the 2016 APSA Best Poster in Public Policy Award
Student debt relief
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“The Political Benefits of Student Debt Relief,” w/Serena Laws, Research&Politics
Featured in The Washington Posts’ Monkey Cage
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Uncivil Democracy: Politics, Power, and Access to Justice, w/Jamila Michener (book manuscript)
featured in Law and Political Economy Project
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featured in Ricochet, Cornell Chronicle
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“Mapping State Policy on Civil Legal Representation,” w/Jamila Michener, working paper