Studies

2013

• CFA and UNUM Report Reveals Critical Role of Workplace Disability Benefits, 09/23/2013. (PDF)
• New Research Shows Most American Households Do Financial Planning, But the Extent of This Planning Varies Greatly, 09/18/2013. (PDF)
• Nation's Top Ten Consumer Complaints Survey, 07/31/2013. (PDF)
• CFA Releases Report with New Information on Basic Savings Accounts Held by Three-Fifths of All U.S. Households, 06/24/2013. (PDF)
• CFA Report Shows That Children from Low-Income Families Face Greater Safety Risks, 06/17/2013. (PDF)
• Down the Regulatory Rabbit Hole: How Corporate Influence, Judicial Review and a Lack of Transparency Delay Crucial Rules and Harm the Public, 06/13/2013. (PDF)
• CFA and VantageScore Solutions reveals Large Number of Americans Know Little About Credit Scores, 05/13/2013. (PDF)(Infographic)
• New Research: Consumers Embrace New Fuel Economy Standard, are Purchasing More High MPG Vehicles, and Plan to Significantly Increase Fuel Efficiency in Future Purchases, 04/29/2013. (PDF)
• Something Old, Something New In Tax-Time Financial Products: Refund Anticipation Checks and the Next Wave of Quickie Tax Loans, 02/28/13. (PDF)
• Driven to Disaster: Car-Title Lending and It's Impact on Consumers, 02/28/2013. (PDF)
• Best Intentions: The Highs and Lows of the Home Affordable Modification Program, 1/16/13. (PDF)

2012

• Have Restructured Wholesale Electricity Markets Benefitted Consumers?, 12/13/12. (PDF)
• CFA Report: Can Consumers Avoid Checking Fees? 10/16/12. (PDF)
• The Financial Status and Decision-Making of the American Middle Class 09/18/12. (PDF)
• 2011 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 07/31/12. (PDF)
• 2012 Household Financial Planning Survey, 07/23/12. (PDF)
• A Key Step to Ending America's Oil Addiction, 07/16/12. (PDF)
• The End of the End of Competition for Digital Access Service, 07/09/12. (PDF)
• The Role of Antitrust in Protecting Competition, Innovation and Consumers as the Digital Revolution Matures: The Case against the Universal-EMI Merger and E-Book Price Fixing, 06/14/12. (PDF)
• CFA's 2012 Survey of 14 Largest Banks' Overdraft Loan Fees and Terms, 06/07/12. (PDF)
• Low Ball: An Insider’s Look at How Some Insurers Can Manipulate Computerized Systems to Broadly Underpay Injury Claims, 06/04/12. (PDF)
• The Military Lending Act Five Years Later, 05/30/12. (PDF)
• Employee Knowledge and Attitudes about Employer-Provided Disability Insurance, 04/30/12. (PDF)
• How are Identity Theft Services Measuring Up to Best Practices?, 04/18/12. (PDF)
• 2012 CFA/NCLC Refund Anticipation Loan Report: The Party’s Over for Quickie Tax Loans: But Traps Remain for Unwary Taxpayers, 02/29/12. (PDF)
• The Insurance Industry’s Incredible Disappearing Weather Catastrophe Risk,02/17/12. (PDF)
• Lower-income Households and the Auto Insurance Marketplace: Challenges and Opportunities, 01/30/12. (PDF)

2011

• Why Growing Up is Hard to Do: The “Quarter-life Crisis” of the Digital Revolution in the Transition from a Public Switched Telephone Network to a Public Digital Communications Network, 12/14/11. (PDF)
• CFA Guide to Navigating the Auto Claims’ Maze:  Getting the Settlement You Deserve, 12/14/11. (PDF)
• CFA Auto Claims Checklist 12/14/11. (PDF)
• A Case Of Wall Street “Deja Vu All Over Again” Excessive Speculation And Oil Price Shock Recessions, 10/13/11. (PDF)
• CFA Survey of Online Payday Loan Websites, 08/31/11. (PDF)
• CFA's Updated Survey of 14 Largest Banks' Overdraft Fees, 08/03/11. (PDF)
• 2010 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 07/27/11. (PDF)
• One Year After: A Progress Report on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 07/20/11. (PDF)
• Setting the Record Straight on Increasing Fuel Economy Standards, 06/28/11. (PDF)
• Proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage Definition Harms Creditworthy Borrowers While Frustrating Housing Recovery, 6/6/11. (PDF)
• Safe Food Coalition Fact Sheet on HIMP, 5/27/11. (PDF)
• Will Policymakers Get Serious About Ending Our “Addiction to Oil” by Supporting 60 MPG Fuel Economy Standards Report, 5/31/11. (PDF)
• Gasoline Prices and Expenditures Report, 03/16/11. (PDF)
• Best Practices for Identity Theft Services, 03/10/11. (PDF)
• CFA Appliance Efficiency Report, 03/08/11. (PDF)
• Internet Access and Network Management Practices:The Public Remains Concerned and Wants Policies to Ensure Access, 03/08/11. (PDF)
• End of the Rapid Rip-Off: The NCLC/CFA 2011 Refund Anticipation Loan Report, 02/28/11. (PDF)
• A Responsible Market for Housing Finance – A Progressive Plan to Reform the U.S. Secondary Market for Residential Mortgages, by the Mortgage Finance Working Group, January 2011. (PDF)

2010

• Consumer Protection in Cloud Computing Services: Recommendations for Best Practices, 11/30/10. (PDF)
• Senate HELP Committee One Page Small Farm and Small Business Guide Document on S.510, 11/24/10. (PDF)
• Senate HELP Committee Short Summary Document on S.510, 11/24/10. (PDF)
• Senate HELP Committee Section by Section Substitute Amendment Document on S.510, 11/24/10. (PDF)
• Senate HELP Committee Frequently Asked Questions/Myths Document on S.510, 11/24/10. (PDF)
• Public Support for a 60 Mile Per Gallon Fuel Economy Standard, 09/28/10. (PDF)
• Recipe for Disaster: Food Recalls Proliferate While Food Safety Fix Awaits Action, 09/08/10. (PDF)
• Prepaid Cards: Second-Tier Bank Account Substitutes, 09/2010. (PDF)
• Setting the Next Round of Fuel Economy Standards: Consumers Benefit at 60 Miles Per Gallon, 09/02/10. (PDF)
• 2009 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 07/27/10. (PDF)
• CFA White Paper on Secondary Mortgage Market Policies, 06/10/10. (PDF)
• Consumer Complaint Websites: An Assessment, 06/07/10. (PDF)
• U.S. Oil Market Fundamentals and Public Opinion Report, 05/18/10. (PDF)
• 50-State Small Dollar Loan Scorecard, 05/12/10. (PDF)
• 50-State Small Dollar Loan Scorecard Backup, 05/12/10. (PDF)
• "You Gonna Eat That?" Article by CFA's Carol Tucker-Foreman in The American Interest, 04/09/10. (LINK)
• Major Changes in the Quick Tax Refund Loan Industry: the NCLC/CFA 2010 Refund Anticipation Loan Report, 2/26/10. (PDF)
• Building on the Success of Energy Efficiency Programs to Ensure an Affordable Energy Future: State by State Savings on Residential Utility Bills, 02/23/10. (PDF)
• CFA's Director of Insurance with Americans for Insurance Reform on Insurer "Tort Cost" Report, 01/29/10. (PDF)

(back to top)

2009

• Shifting Fuel Economy into High Gear, 11/24/09. (PDF)
• CFA Handbook Federal and State Legal Protections of Consumers' Financial Information Privacy and Security, 09/16/09. (PDF)
• Fringe Financial Product Privacy and Security White Paper, 09/16/09. (PDF)
• How to Contact State Insurance Regulators about Financial Privacy and Security, 09/16/09. (PDF)
• How to Contact State Attorneys General and Credit Regulators about Financial Privacy and Security, 09/16/09. (PDF)
• How to Contact Federal Agencies about Financial Privacy and Security, 09/16/09. (PDF)
• CFA Survey: Sixteen Largest Bank Overdraft Fees and Terms, Updated 07/31/09. (PDF)
• 2008 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 07/30/09. (PDF)
• Transcript of CFA Symposium on Changes to FSIS Meat and Poultry Inspection Program, 06/25/09. (PDF)
• A Consumer Analysis of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Standards: The Cornerstone of Consumer-Friendly Energy/Environmental Policy, 05/20/09. (PDF)
• Bulk Commodities and the Rails: Still Crazy After All These Years, 05/01/09. (PDF)
• Reform of Financial Markets Report, 04/06/09. (PDF)
• Reform of Financial Markets Issue Brief, 04/06/09. (PDF)
• To Catch a Thief: Are Identity Theft Services Worth the Cost?, 03/18/09. (PDF)
• Big Business, Big Bucks: Quickie Tax Loans Generate Profits for Banks and Tax Preparers while Putting Low-Income Taxpayers at Risk. The NCLC/CFA 2009 Refund Anticipation Loan Report, 02/27/09. (PDF)

(back to top)

2008

• The Financial Condition of Women on Their Own, 12/02/08. (PDF)
• State Insurance Department Websites: A Consumer Assessment, 11/10/08. (PDF)
• Understanding the Emergency Savings Needs of Low and Moderate Income Households: A Survey-Based Analysis of Impacts, Causes, and Remedies, 11/01/08. (PDF)
• A Boom for Big Oil – A Bust for Consumers: An Analysis of Policies to Meet American Energy Needs, 09/16/08. (PDF)
• Fuel Economy and Auto Sales: Automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Ignore Market Signals, 08/04/08. (PDF)
• 2007 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 07/30/08. (PDF)
• 50-State Small Dollar Loan Scorecard, 08/27/08. (PDF)
• 50-State Small Dollar Loan Scorecard Statutory Backup, 08/27/08. (PDF)
• TOTAL RECALL: The Need for CPSC Reform Now, 07/23/08. (PDF)
• Alcohol Facts Poster, 06/30/08. (PDF)
• The Essential Role of Banks and Credit Unions in Facilitating Lower-Income Household Saving for Emergencies, 06/01/08. (PDF)
• State Automobile Insurance Regulation: A National Quality Assessment and In-Depth Review of California's Uniquely Effective Regulatory System, 04/24/08. (PDF)
• Ending America's Oil Addiction: A Quarterly Report on Consumption, Prices and Imports First Quarter, 2008, 04/21/08. (PDF)
• Coming Down: Fewer Refund Anticipation Loans, Lower Prices from Some Providers, But Quickie Tax Refund Loans Still Burden the Working Poor: The NCLC/CFA 2008 Refund Anticipation Loan Report, 03/31/08. (PDF)
• Rising Gasoline Prices: Why Can't Consumers Catch a Break?, 03/26/08. (PDF)
• A Consumer Analysis of the Adoption of the California Clean Cars Program in Other States: Arizona, 03/12/08. (PDF)
• California Subprime Study, 01/30/08. (PDF)
• Property/Casualty Insurance in 2008: Overpriced Insurance and Underpaid Claims Result in Unjustified Profits, Padded Reserves, and Excessive Capitalization, 01/10/08. (PDF)

(back to top)

2007

• A Step Toward s Brighter Energy Future: Policymakers Break the Logjam, But Vigorous Implementation Is Crucial, 12/18/07. (PDF)
• Variable Universal Life Insurance: Worth Buying Now?, 12/13/07. (PDF)
• Women are Prime Targets for Subprime Lending, 12/07/06. (PDF)
• A Consumer Analysis of the Adoption of the California Clean Cars Program in Other States: New Mexico, 11/21/07. (PDF)
• No Time to Waste: America's Energy Situation is Dangerous, But Congress Can Adopt New Policies to Secure Our Future, 10/30/07. (PDF)
• Subprime Locations: Patterns of Geographic Disparity in Subprime Lending, 09/05/06. (PDF)
• Technology, Cost and Timing: An Analysis of Competing Congressional Proposals to Raise Fuel Economy Standards, 07/26/07. (PDF)
• Florida's Stake in the Fuel Economy Battle: An Analysis of the Economic, National Security and Environmental Impacts of Florida's Fuel Consumption and Increasing Federal Fuel Economy Standards, 07/25/07. (PDF)
• Big Oil v. Ethanol: The Consumer Stake in Expanding the Production of Liquid Fuels, 07/23/07. (PDF)
• The "Good Hands" Company or A Leader in Anti-Consumer Practices? Excessive Prices and Poor Claims Practices at The Allstate Corporation, 07/18/07. (PDF)
• Still Stuck in Neutral: America's Continued Failure to Improve Motor Vehicle Fuel Economy, 07/17/07. (PDF)
• Too Little, Too Late: Why the Auto Industry Proposal to Go Low and Slow on Fuel Economy Improvements is Not in the Consumer or National Interest, 07/12/07. (PDF)
• Greater Fuel Economy Gains in Senate Commerce Bill than Auto Industry Proposal, 06/18/07. (PDF)
• Rural Households Benefit More from Increases in Fuel Economy, 06/13/07. (PDF)
• National Cost-Benefit Analysis of Increasing Fuel Economy by 10mpg Over 10 Years, 06/04/07. (PDF)
• Congressional Intent of CPSC, 04/26/07. (PDF)
• CPSC Powers of the Chairman, 04/26/07. (PDF)
• Organizations Opposed to Baroody, 04/26/07. (PDF)
• The Wrong Person for the Job: Consumer Groups Express Concern about Nominee to Head Consumer Product Safety Commission, 04/26/07. (PDF)
• One Step Forward, One Step Back: Progress Seen in Efforts Against High Priced Refund Anticipation Loans, But Even More Abusive Products Introduced, 02/05/07. (PDF)
• Property/Casualty Insurance in 2007: Overpriced Insurance, Underpaid Claims, Declining Losses and Unjustified Profits, 01/08/07. (PDF)

(back to top)

2006

• Nontraditional Real Estate Brokers: Growth and Challenges, 12/13/06. (PDF)
• Pay Stub and Holiday RALs: Faster, Costlier, Riskier in the Race to the Bottom, 11/29/06. (PDF)
• Consumers Pay Steep Premium to "Bank" at Check Cashing Outlets, 11/16/06. (PDF)
• Stuck In Neutral: America's Failure to Improve Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency 1996-2005, 11/13/06. (PDF)
• Financial Planning Association of Greater Hudson Valley Technical Aspects in Evaluating Cash Value Life Insurance Policies, 11/13/06. (PDF)
• Time to Change the Record on Oil Policy, 08/08/06. (PDF)
• State Real Estate Regulation: Industry Dominance and Consumer Costs, 07/21/06. (PDF)
• How the Real Estate Cartel Harms Consumers and How Consumers Can Protect Themselves, 06/19/06. (PDF)
• Investors' Mutual Fund Purchase Practices, 06/12/06. (PDF)
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Credit Counseling, Phase One: The Impact of Delivery Channels for Credit Counseling Services, 06/12/06. (PDF)
• A Blueprint for Energy Security: Addressing Consumer Concerns about Gasoline Prices and Supplies by Reducing Consumption and Imports, 05/25/06. (PDF)
• 50 by 2030: Why $3.00 Gasoline Makes the 50 Mile per Gallon Car Feasible, Affordable and Economic, 05/08/06. (PDF)
• 2006 Best and Worst Fuel Economy Ratings, 02/27/06. (PDF)
• Exotic or Toxic? An Examination of the Non-Traditional Mortgage Market for Consumers and Lenders, 05/22/06. (PDF)
• Cow Sense: The Bush Administration's Broken Record on Mad Cow Diseases, 04/07/06. (PDF)
• Another Year of Losses: High-Priced Refund Anticipation Loans Continue to Take a Chunk Out of Americans' Tax Refunds, 02/02/06. (PDF)
• The Importance of the Internet and Public Support for Network Neutrality: National Survey Results, 01/18/06. (PDF)

(back to top)

2005

• Driven into Debt: CFA Car Title Loan Store and Online Survey, 11/17/05. (PDF)
• Subprime Cities: Patterns of Geographic Disparity in Subprime Lending, 09/08/05. (PDF)
• The Impact of Rising Prices on Household Gasoline Expenditures, 09/01/05. (PDF)
• Weaning the Insurance Industry and Large Commercial Policyholders from Taxpayer Subsidies under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, 07/26/05. (PDF)
• Broken Promises and Strangled Competition: The Record of Baby Bell Merger And Market Opening Behavior, 06/15/05. (PDF)
• Consumers Face Hidden Overdraft Charges From Nation's Largest Banks, 06/09/05. (PDF)
• Executive Summary: Broken Promises and Strangled Competition: The Record of Baby Bell Merger And Market Opening Behavior, 06/15/05. (PDF)
• Car Title Lending: Driving Borrowers to Financial Ruin, 04/17/05. (PDF)
• The Impact of Commissions on Prices and Service Quality for Home and Automobile Insurance, 02/24/05. (PDF)
• Thirteenth Annual NACAA/CFA Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 02/10/05. (PDF)
• 2005 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 02/10/05. (PDF)
• Refund Anticipation Loans Still Slicing Into Low-Income American's Hard-Earned Tax Refunds, 02/01/05. (PDF)
• Contingent Insurance Commissions: Implications for Consumers, 01/26/05. (PDF)
• NOT "Ready to Eat": How the Meat and Poultry Industry Weakened Efforts to Reduce Listeria Food Poisoning, 01/04/05. (PDF)

(back to top)

2004

• Responding To Turmoil In Natural Gas Markets: The Consumer Case For Aggressive Policies To Balance Supply And Demand, 12/15/04. (PDF)
• Expanding the Digital Divide and Falling Behind on Broadband, 10/26/04. (PDF)
• Report on the Racial Impact of AHFC's Finance Charge Markup Policy, Mark A. Cohen Ph.D., 07/27/04. (PDF)
• Fueling Profits: Industry Consolidation, Excess Profits & Federal Neglect, 05/11/04. (PDF)
• The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act: Should It Be Renewed?, 04/19/04. (PDF)
• Unsafe and Unsound: Payday Lenders Hide Behind FDIC Bank Charters to Peddle Usury, 03/30/04. (PDF)
• All Drain, No Gain: Refund Anticipation Loans Continue to Sap the Hard-Earned Tax Dollars of Low-Income Americans, 01/28/04. (PDF)
• The Hidden Markup of Auto Loans, 1/26/04. (PDF)

(back to top)

2003

• A Pro-Investor Blueprint for Mutual Fund Reform, 11/25/03. (PDF)
• Twelfth Annual NACAA/CFA Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 11/24/03. (PDF)
• Spring Break in the U.S. Oil Industry: Price Spikes, Excess Profits and Excuses, 10/01/03. (PDF)
• Electricity Deregulation Puts Pressure on the Transmission Network and Increases its Cost, 08/28/03. (PDF)
• ATV Safety Crisis: America's Children STILL at Risk, 08/20/03. (PDF)
• Mass Deregulation of Media Threatens to Undermine Democracy, 06/03/03. (PDF)
• Promoting the Public Interest Through Media Ownership Limits, 05/21/03. (PDF)
• Media Ownership Limits Serve The Public Interest, 05/09/03. (PDF)
• Credit Counseling in Crisis: The Impact on Consumers of Funding Cuts, Higher Fees, and Aggressive New Market Entrants Placement, 04/08/03. (PDF)
• Concentration in California's Local Media Markets, 03/01/03. (PDF)
• A Discouraging Word (or Two or Three or Four) About Electricity Restructuring in Texas, Pennsylvania, New England and Elsewhere, 03/01/03. (PDF)
• The High Cost of Quick Tax Money: Tax Preparation, 'Instant Loans, and Check Cashing Fees Target the Working Poor, 01/29/03. (PDF)

(back to top)

2002

• Credit Score Accuracy and Implications for Consumers, 12/17/02. (PDF)
• Executive Summary: Democratic Discourse in the Digital Information Age, 12/13/02. (PDF)
• Eleventh Annual NACAA/CFA Consumer Complaint Survey Report, 11/25/02. (PDF)
• CFA Holiday Spending Survey 2002, 11/18/02. (PDF)
• Public Support for Media Diversity and Democracy in the Digital Age, 10/31/02. (PDF)
• All Pain, No Gain: Restructuring and Deregulation in the Interstate Electricity Market, 09/18/02. (PDF)
• ATV Safety Crisis: America's Children at Risk, 08/20/02. (PDF)
• Playing It Safe: The Sixth Nationwide Safety Survey of Public Playgrounds, 06/20/02. (PDF)

(back to top)

2001

(back to top)

2000

• Ban Baby Bath Seats Petition, 07/25/00. (PDF)

(back to top)

1999

(back to top)

1998

• Playground Safety, 06/11/98. (PDF)
• How Safe Is Your Local Playground? (PDF)

(back to top)