FinDev Webinar

Behavioral Research: The Secret Ingredient for Consumer Protection Policy

Behavioral research has emerged as a powerful tool to develop consumer protection policy and improve the supervision of financial institutions’ behavior. Evidence from CGAP’s work in emerging markets shows how behavioral research improves understanding of firm and consumer behavior resulting in creative new approaches to policy design.

Through examples of CGAP and others’ policy work, and a conversation between a behavioral researcher and a policymaker, this webinar recording demystifies behavioral research and shows clear and actionable measures policymakers can take to design better policy approaches to consumer protection.

The webinar explores:

  • What is behavioral research and why does it matter for consumer protection policy?
  • How can policymakers use behavioral research to improve consumer protection policies?
  • What resources are needed to get started, and where to find them?

Target Audience:

Policymakers working in consumer protection, behavioral research experts from academia and consulting firms, and other practitioners interested to develop a better understanding of this topic.

FinDev Webinar

About this Webinar

Recorded

Speaker Bios

Rafe Mazer
Moderator

Rafe Mazer

Institution:
CGAP

Rafe Mazer works with CGAP's Policy Team on applying behavioral research to consumer protection and financial inclusion. For more than five years he has been designing and leading behavioral research projects with policymakers, providers and donors to help understand how our behaviors impact financial decisions and outcomes.

Rafe’s research explores a range of topics related to consumer and financial firm behavior including the impact of digital financial services on consumers’ decisions to borrow or save, different contexts affecting behavior of sales staff, and consumer attitudes towards data privacy. This research has been used to develop a range of financial inclusion solutions, including interactive SMS for mobile savings and credit, key facts statements and disclosure regulations, complaints handling regulations, data disclosure messaging, and regulations for consumer protection in digital financial services. He has led research in markets including Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and Tanzania.

Stanislaw Zmitrowicz

Stanislaw Zmitrowicz

Institution:
Central Bank of Brazil

Stanislaw Zmitrowicz works with the Department for Financial Citizenship Promotion of the Central Bank of Brazil. As a consultant with CGAP's Protecting Consumers Initiative in 2015-2017, he led outreach to supervisors and supported CGAP's work to help policy makers apply behavioral research and consumer insights to consumer protection regulation and supervision. A 15-year veteran of the Central Bank, Stan’s most recent work focused on financial consumer protection, performing on-site supervision and elaborating then Bank’s supervision program. Previously he has worked on a wide range of issues including banking supervision and AML-CFT.

Leave a Comment

Comments on this page are moderated by FinDev Editors. We welcome comments that offer remarks and insights that are relevant to the post. Learn More