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Research and Applications

PERC is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding Information Solutions for Development Challenges worldwide. Going beyond the standard think tank model of solely carrying out research and producing reports, our staff develops real-world applications and works with policy makers at all levels to bring about the change we seek.

Find out more: About PERC

Serving the Missing Middle

PERC's mission is to serve the Missing Middle, the almost 4 billion people above the global poverty line who do not have access to affordable mainstream credit, by utilizing a new type of economic development: information-led development.

Find out more: Information-Led Development, Who are the missing middle?

Overcoming the Catch-22

Up to 70 million Americans are excluded from the financial mainstream because of the Credit Catch-22: you need to have a history of debt to get credit. PERC's Alternative Data Initiative has already helped many Americans overcome this Catch-22 and access affordable mainstream credit.

Find out more: Alternative Data Initiative

Smart Disaster Recovery

PERC has developed metrics for the Louisiana Recovery Agency and the World Bank to track small business recovery from natural disasters.

Find out more: Gulf Coast Economic Renewal

Donate to PERC

You can help support PERC's mission of global asset building by donating via Paypal. PERC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization incorporated in the state of North Carolina. All donations are tax deductible.


Michael A. Turner, Ph.D.

President and CEO
Expertise::: Consumer and Commercial Credit Reporting and Credit Scoring, Data Privacy and Security, Information Policy, Information-led Development

Dr. Turner currently serves as President and Senior Scholar of PERC, which he founded. He is a prominent expert on credit access, credit reporting and scoring, information policy, and economic development. He has testified before Congress and numerous state legislatures, and presented studies to a host of government agencies including the FTC, the FCC, and the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Council of Economic Advisors, and the White House.

Dr. Turner was appointed to the first Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee of the Department of Homeland Security by former Secretary Tom Ridge, and served on an Advisory Board at the Brookings Institution. He has advised senior government officials in more than 20 countries, and was a policy advisor to the Obama Campaign on urban policy.

The author or co-author of dozens of books, studies, or articles, Dr. Turner is widely cited in the mainstream and trade media. He is a highly sought after public speaker who has addressed audiences worldwide. Dr. Turner has served as expert witness for both plaintiff and defense in several federal cases (class action, anti-trust) involving information policy, consumer credit, credit reporting and financials services.

Dr. Turner served as Graduate Fellow at the Columbia Institute of Tele-Information at the Columbia Business School, Executive Director of the Information Services Executive Council, manger of government affairs for the North American Telecommunications Association, and staff assistant in the U.S. Senate.

Dr. Turner received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in International Political Economy and his B.A. from Miami University in Economics. He was awarded a Yeck Fellowship from Harvard Business School, and was awarded the Ashoka Foundation Fellowship in 2009.

Asia-Pacific Credit Coalition

APCC is a PERC-managed coalition committed to promoting a regional standard for full-file, comprehensive consumer credit reporting to private credit bureaus within the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies. Please visit PERC's coalition for credit standards in the APEC region, the Asia-Pacific Credit Coalition

Follow PERC here!

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Assessment of Small Business Aid and Needs in Louisiana Five Years After Hurricane Katrina: Overview of Case Studies – more info...
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Class Action Tort Costs and the Consequences for Innovation – more info...
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Consumers, Citizens, Charity and Content: Attitudes Toward Teleservices – more info...
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Credit Reporting Customer Payment Data – more info...
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Economic Fairness Through Smarter Lending: Some Factors to Consider on the Eve of Brazilian Credit Reporting Reform – more info...
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Economic Impacts of Payment Reporting Participation in Latin America – more info...
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Financial Impacts of Disaster: What We Can Learn from Credit File Data – more info...
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General Response to Criticisms of recent PERC report: U.S. Consumer Credit Reporting: Measuring Accuracy and Dispute Impacts – more info...
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Give Credit Where Credit is Due: Increasing Access to Affordable Mainstream Credit Using Alternative Data – more info...
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Giving Underserved Consumers Better Access to the Credit System: The Promise of Non-traditional Data – more info...
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How Safe and Secure Is It? – more info...
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Information Sharing and SMME Financing in South Africa: A Survey of the Landscape – more info...
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Louisiana Small Businesses Five Years Post-Katrina: Assessing LDRF Program Impacts And Measuring Existing Needs – more info...
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NCLC Supports the “3 Ps” of Lending: Pawn Shops, Predatory Lenders and Pay Day Lenders – more info...
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New to Credit from Alternative Data – more info...
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On the Impact of Credit Payment Reporting on the Financial Sector and Overall Economic Performance in Japan – more info...
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Optimal Consumer Credit Bureau Market Structure in Singapore – more info...
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Prime vs. AT&T: An Economic Analysis – more info...
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Privacy Rights and Policy Wrongs: How Data Restrictions can Impair Information-Led Development in Emerging Markets – more info...
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Recovering But Not Recovered: Gulf Coast Businesses Three Years Later – more info...
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Recovery, Renewal, and Resiliency: Gulf Coast Small Businesses Two Years Later – more info...
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Roadmap to Reform: Lessons from around the world to guide consumer credit reporting reform in Australia – more info...
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The Consequences of Prohibiting Credit Inquiry Data in Chilean Credit Files – more info...
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The Economic Consequences of Credit Information Sharing – more info...
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The Fair Credit Reporting Act: Access, Efficiency and Opportunity - Part II – more info...
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The Fair Credit Reporting Act: Access, Efficiency, and Opportunity – more info...
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The Impact of Provider- Identifiable Data on Healthcare Quality and Cost – more info...
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The Structure of Information Sharing and Credit Access: Lessons for Policy – more info...
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Towards a Rational Data Breach Notification Regime – more info...
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U.S. Consumer Credit Reports: Measuring Accuracy and Dispute Impacts – more info...
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Using non-traditional data for underwriting loans to thin-file borrowers: Evidence, tips, and precautions – more info...
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You Score You Win: The Consequences of Giving Credit Where Credit is Due – more info...