Tom Miller
SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW
Tom Miller, Jr. is a Senior Research Fellow at Consumers’ Research. He is a Professor of Finance and inaugural holder of the Jack R. Lee Chair in Financial Institutions and Consumer Finance at Mississippi State University. With its focus on Consumer Finance, notably installment credit products, the Lee Chair is the first of its kind. He currently serves as a member of the Academic Research Council at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Professor Miller has several ongoing research projects on various topics in small-dollar loans. His current research now includes projects on payday loans and on small-dollar installment loans.
Miller is a frequent speaker at national conferences and conventions. His overall topics generally focus on the value to consumers of maintaining access to small-dollar credit products, the value of competition in small-dollar credit products, and educating policymakers about how small-dollar credit products work.
Miller has had, and maintains, a long-standing interest in derivative securities and investments. He has published numerous scholarly peer-reviewed articles on various topics in derivative securities. In addition, he is the author of How Do Small-Dollar Nonbank Loans Work? and co-author (with Bradford D. Jordan and Steve Dolvin) of Fundamentals of Investments: Valuation and Management, 9th ed. (McGraw-Hill/Irwin). He is also co-author (with David Dubofsky) of Derivatives: Valuation and Risk Management (Oxford University Press).
Miller received his Ph.D. in finance from the University of Washington (Seattle) and his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in applied economics from Montana State University. In his off hours, he enjoys playing jazz and blues on the tenor saxophone.
Latest From Tom Miller
2021 Jack R. Lee Distinguished Speaker Series Featuring Mark Calabria and Todd Zywicki
Student-Athletes Deserve 10-Year Scholarships
On June 21, the Supreme Court ruled that the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s strict limits on compensation for student-athletes violated antitrust law. The door is now open for college athletes to license their names, images and likenesses.
Consumers’ Research Senior Research Fellow Professor Tom Miller To Testify Before Senate Banking Committee
Consumers’ Research Senior Fellow Professor Tom Miller, Jr. will testify before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs at 10:00 A.M. Thursday, July 29.
Will Biden’s CFPB Nominee Run a Research-Focused Agency?
Why is the Senate allowing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to drift away from Senator Elizabeth Warren’s original vision of a data-driven agency “with research at the core of all of its work?” Prudent regulators should not make policy based on mere beliefs, or on the findings of one or two studies.
State Laws Can Give Consumers More Loan Choices
Changing state laws can invite competition into the small-dollar loan landscape.
Tom Miller’s joint comment letter with Beau Brunson on the CFPB’s proposed payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans
All financial regulations should be grounded firmly in empirical research. The reach of federal rules is too large not to proceed with extreme care and caution, particularly if rules disproportionately affect economically vulnerable Americans.
Mercatus Center Publications
Reframing Financial Regulation
The financial system is a critical engine that keeps the economy vibrant. Serving consumers faced with unanticipated expenses, investors planning their futures, and small businesses looking to expand, it creates economic opportunities for all participants in society. In recent years, however, worries about too-big-to-fail and too-small-to-borrow have led many to question whether financial markets are working the way they should.
The Importance of Competition, Even in ‘Small-Dollar’ Loan Industry
Consumers benefit greatly from increased competition in any market, especially a credit market.
Comment on the CFPB’s Rule on Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans
We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the proposed rulemaking by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB or Bureau) on payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans. The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is dedicated to bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems and to advancing knowledge about the effects of regulation on society. This comment, therefore, does not represent the views of any particular affected party or special interest group but is designed to assist the Bureau as it considers whether—and, if so, how—to proceed with rulemaking regarding small-dollar lending. More generally, this comment seeks to assist the Bureau in embracing a regulatory approach that serves consumers by fostering competitive, innovative, accessible, and diverse credit markets.
Thomas Miller on Mississippi State University’s Dividends Show
Thomas Miller appears on the Dividends Show to discuss his recent testimony on consumer finance and the small-dollar loan landscape before the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee. He also shares with host, Jeffrey Rupp, how small-dollar loan markets work and how best to restructure regulation to improve borrower welfare.
The Demonization of 36 Percent APR
Competition guarantees that the borrowers will receive loans at the lowest possible cost and highest possible customer service—in both large- and small-dollar loan markets. Read more at Mercatus.org
Google’s Decision on Payday Loans Defies Logic
We remain puzzled by Google’s decision. Protecting and helping consumers is a noble goal. Limiting access to credit, however, isn’t the way to do it.
Preserving and Expanding Consumer Access to Credit Products along the Nonbank-Supplied Small-Dollar Loan Landscape
Conversations about consumer credit often reflect utopian visions of the world. Many people imagine that a few tweaks to regulations can ensure that everyone has the money needed to feed, clothe, and shelter the family. According to this logic, if households need to...
Credit Insurance Is Your Peace of Mind
Although life insurance agents and lenders provide socially important products, few people get lively when thinking about them. Fewer still get excited about lenders who also sell life insurance on loans. While few people have even heard of an important insurance product known as credit insurance, many borrowers rely on this product for peace of mind. What is credit insurance? Borrowers sometimes worry that they will not be able to pay back their loan due to unforeseen events. The market, of course, provides a way to calm these anxious borrowers by allowing them to add a product to their loan: credit insurance.
Why a 36% Cap Is Too Low for Small-Dollar Loans
Consumer advocates, regulators, and legislators must stand courageously and do what the far-sighted reformers did 100 years ago: allow for much higher interest rates on small-dollar loans. The cost to consumers is low. A 108% APR on a $300, 12-month installment loan costs only $2.94 per week more than a similar loan at a 36% APR. Consumers should have the choice to pay this additional pittance. The trifling amount can help eliminate the loan desert.
Community College Shouldn’t Be Free
President Barack Obama recently opined that he would like “to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who is willing to work for it.” This important proposal from the president’s State of the Union Address has already gained support from Dr. Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania. Obama, Gutmann and I all agree that higher education has a high value. Yet we likely disagree on its price.