Resources | PERC

Alternative Data and Credit Scoring

Wikipedia article on alternative data, summing up major research.
The Use of Alternative Data, from the Fair Lending Compliance Blog, Clark Abrahams’ (SAS) blog on new approaches to credit risk and granting access to credit.
Alternative Data and Its Use In Credit Scoring (PDF), a presentation from February 2008 at the Philadelphia Fed.
Alternative Data to Build A Credit Score overviews the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s research plans.

Center for Financial Services Innovation — Based in Chicago, IL, CFSI has partnered with PERC on the issue of alternative data.
Payment Reporting Builds Credit (PRBC) — A credit bureau that allows consumers to self-report non-financial payment information.
The Brookings Institution Urban Markets Initiative — Now defunct branch of the Brookings Institution, UMI dealt in alternative data research. Though UMI has now merged with PERC’s Information Policy Institute to form MAIN, the Brookings page contains all old publications.
Credit Builders Alliance — An advocacy group to help the underbanked build credit. See also their section on alternative data.

Fair Credit Reporting Act (PDF) is the American law that regulated the use of credit information (see also, the FTC resource site and the wikipedia article)
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (PDF) is an ammendment to the FCRA that includes provisions fighting identity theft.

Equifax
Experian
TransUnion
FICO Expansion Score includes data from alternative data sources.
Anthem Report is a non-traditional credit report by First American that includes alternative data.
LexisNexis’ RiskView uses alternative data to score non-traditional borrowers.

Private Credit Bureaus Around the World — from the IFC, a list of all private credit bureaus world-wide.
Microfinance Gateway — run by CGAP, it is a comprehensive online resource for the global microfinance community
Doing Business — The World Bank and the IFC’s compendium of business regulations and their enforcement in 181 countries

Went for Cost, Stayed for Quality?: Moving the Back Office to India Martin Kenney and Rafiq Dossani - Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy.
Has Structural Change Contributed to a Jobless Recovery? Erica L. Groshen and Simon Potter - Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Chinese and Indian Engineers and their Networks in Silicon Valley Rafiq Dossani - Stanford University