Dec 2015
, Does Community Access to Alternative Financial Services Relate to Individuals' Use of These Services? Beyond Individual Explanations
There is concern that the increasing number of alternative financial services in communities across the US is risking individuals' financial health by increasing their use of these highcost services. To address this concern, this study used restricted-access, zip code data from nationally representative samples of adult individuals and examined whether the density or concentration of alternative financial services within communities related to individuals’ use of these services. The associations between community density and individuals' use varied by annual household income.