Authors Archives: Robin Varghese, Ph.D.

Louisiana Small Businesses Five Years Post-Katrina: Assessing LDRF Program Impacts And Measuring Existing Needs

This report examines the continuing impact of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters on small businesses and the self-employed in Louisiana. Primary to this research was an examination of the impacts of aid received from the Community Development Organizations (CDOs) funded in part by the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) as well as aid received from other sources. It also examines the extent of existing unmet needs of small businesses in Louisiana. For this research PERC surveyed over 1,600 small business operators and analyzed data from tens of thousands of Experian small business credit files.

The Economic Consequences of Credit Information Sharing

PERC was commissioned by the OECD to write a white paper on the economic value of personal financial data for a roundtable on the current environment for protecting privacy with a focus on the economic dimension. PERC’s white paper discusses how broader information-sharing backed by consumer rights has promoted efficiency and inclusion while maintaining and protecting confidentiality. It represents one of the first attempts to examine data sharing from the perspective of economic consequences. While the Fair Information Principles were disseminated 30 years ago, these guidelines have been understood largely in terms of privacy with little attention paid to the economic impacts of different information sharing systems. The white paper, relying on PERC research, as well as similar research by others, introduces policymakers to the effects of variations in financial information sharing.

Financial Inclusion through Credit Reporting: Hurdles and Solutions

This policy brief, a white paper produced for the APCC in April 2010, examines the logic of information sharing as it relates to financial inclusion and suggests some policy concerns and policy targets designed to promote a financial inclusion agenda.

Credit Reporting Customer Payment Data

This study examines the impact and benefits that accrue to consumers, lenders, and utilities and telecommunications firms when telecoms and utilities report customer payment information to credit bureaus.

Recovering But Not Recovered: Gulf Coast Businesses Three Years Later

This is a follow-up to the 2007 small business survey and provides further insight as to the progress of recovery from the hurricanes of 2005. As with the 2007 survey, this year’s survey asked small business owners and operators about the changing state of their business since the 2005 hurricanes, and since August of 2007.