Creditworthy

A History of Consumer Surveillance and Financial Identity in America

Business & Finance, Economics, Economic History, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Creditworthy by Josh Lauer, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Josh Lauer ISBN: 9780231544627
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: July 25, 2017
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Josh Lauer
ISBN: 9780231544627
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: July 25, 2017
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

The first consumer credit bureaus appeared in the 1870s and quickly amassed huge archives of deeply personal information. Today, the three leading credit bureaus are among the most powerful institutions in modern life—yet we know almost nothing about them. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are multi-billion-dollar corporations that track our movements, spending behavior, and financial status. This data is used to predict our riskiness as borrowers and to judge our trustworthiness and value in a broad array of contexts, from insurance and marketing to employment and housing.

In Creditworthy, the first comprehensive history of this crucial American institution, Josh Lauer explores the evolution of credit reporting from its nineteenth-century origins to the rise of the modern consumer data industry. By revealing the sophistication of early credit reporting networks, Creditworthy highlights the leading role that commercial surveillance has played—ahead of state surveillance systems—in monitoring the economic lives of Americans. Lauer charts how credit reporting grew from an industry that relied on personal knowledge of consumers to one that employs sophisticated algorithms to determine a person's trustworthiness. Ultimately, Lauer argues that by converting individual reputations into brief written reports—and, later, credit ratings and credit scores—credit bureaus did something more profound: they invented the modern concept of financial identity. Creditworthy reminds us that creditworthiness is never just about economic "facts." It is fundamentally concerned with—and determines—our social standing as an honest, reliable, profit-generating person.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The first consumer credit bureaus appeared in the 1870s and quickly amassed huge archives of deeply personal information. Today, the three leading credit bureaus are among the most powerful institutions in modern life—yet we know almost nothing about them. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are multi-billion-dollar corporations that track our movements, spending behavior, and financial status. This data is used to predict our riskiness as borrowers and to judge our trustworthiness and value in a broad array of contexts, from insurance and marketing to employment and housing.

In Creditworthy, the first comprehensive history of this crucial American institution, Josh Lauer explores the evolution of credit reporting from its nineteenth-century origins to the rise of the modern consumer data industry. By revealing the sophistication of early credit reporting networks, Creditworthy highlights the leading role that commercial surveillance has played—ahead of state surveillance systems—in monitoring the economic lives of Americans. Lauer charts how credit reporting grew from an industry that relied on personal knowledge of consumers to one that employs sophisticated algorithms to determine a person's trustworthiness. Ultimately, Lauer argues that by converting individual reputations into brief written reports—and, later, credit ratings and credit scores—credit bureaus did something more profound: they invented the modern concept of financial identity. Creditworthy reminds us that creditworthiness is never just about economic "facts." It is fundamentally concerned with—and determines—our social standing as an honest, reliable, profit-generating person.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Mobile Modernity by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Love and Forgiveness for a More Just World by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Facing the Abyss by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Bonded Labor by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book After the Silents by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Virus Alert by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book The Gold Standard at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Flight Ways by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Immigration Policy in the Age of Punishment by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Buddhism in America by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Global Entanglements of a Man Who Never Traveled by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Pain by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Avengers Assemble! by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Reading Style by Josh Lauer
Cover of the book Wiring the World by Josh Lauer
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy