J. Michael Collins

About

I am the Fetzer Family Chair in Consumer Finance at the School of Human Ecology, an associate professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs, and the faculty director of the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). I also conduct outreach activities with the Wisconsin Cooperative Extension on consumer finance. My research is focused on consumer decision-making, including credit, savings, and investment choices. I also study the role of financial information, coaching, and counseling with a focus on low-income families. I developed a Social Security Administration Financial Literacy Research Consortium center at UW-Madison and have supported a range of multi-disciplinary field studies in consumer finance. I am also an affiliate of the Center for Demography and Ecology (CDE) and the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP).

CDE research theme area affiliations

Demography of Inequality; Fertility, Families, and Households

Selected Publications

Collins, J. Michael, and C. Urban. “The Effects of a Foreclosure Moratorium on Loan Repayment Behaviors.” Regional Science and Urban Economics 68 (2018): 73-83.

Sherraden, Margaret, Julie Birkenmaier, and J. Michael Colins. “Financial Capability for All: Training Human Service Professionals to Work with Vulnerable Families – Sherraden.” Journal of Consumer Affairs  (2018).

Anderson, Drew M., Alexander Strand, and J. Michael Collins. “The Impact of Electronic Payments for Vulnerable Consumers: Evidence from Social Security.” Journal of Consumer Affairs 52, no. 1 (2018): 35-60.

Collins, J. Michael, Leah Gjertson, and Justin Sydnor. “Incentives for Loan Repayments: Evidence from a Randomized Field Study.” Journal of Consumer Affairs 52, no. 1 (2018): 197-208.

Bartfeld, Judith, and J. Michael Collins. “Food Insecurity, Financial Shocks, and Financial Coping Strategies among Households with Elementary School Children in Wisconsin.” Journal of Consumer Affairs 51, no. 3 (2017): 519-48.