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Iain RamsayProfessorI.D.C.Ramsay@kent.ac.uk |
BiographyIain Ramsay (LL.B Edinburgh, LL.M.McGill) has taught in both England and Canada. From 1986-2007 he was a Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada. He has been a visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan and the University of Sydney. ResearchMy research interests are primarily in regulation of consumer markets at the national, regional and international level with a particular interest in issues of credit and insolvency. I am also interested in commercial credit and commercial law, focusing on the role of credit law in development. My approach is interdisciplinary drawing on economic and socio-legal perspectives. I am currently conducting a study of overindebtedness and the policy responses in the UK, am a co-ordinator of an international network of scholars on overindebtedness and recently completed a new edition of a text on Consumer Law and Policy. Major research projects
Publications
Also view these in the Kent Academic Repository
Books
Ramsay, Iain (2007)
Consumer Law and Policy: Text and Materials on Regulating Consumer Markets.
Hart Publications, Oxford, 788 pp. ISBN 1841135054.
Articles
Ramsay, Iain (2007)
Comparative Consumer Bankruptcy.
Illinois Law Review, 2007 (1). pp. 241-274.
Abstract This article discusses comparative consumer bankruptcy in the context of the international spread of consumer credit capitalism and its accompanying social cost, overindebtedness. The article outlines the contours of regulation of credit markets and overindebtedness within Europe, the influence of the U.S. idea of the “fresh start” on recent changes in European debt-adjustment laws and continuing contrasts with the U.S. approach to bankruptcy. As consumer debt increases in Europe and elsewhere, these differences between continental European and North American approaches to bankruptcy might be explained by the path-dependence of legal institutions, cultural differences, or the political influence of interest groups. The article is skeptical about cultural explanations of difference and suggests the value of an analysis that is sensitive to political economy and history.It also argues that future comparative research should focus on overindebtedness rather than bankruptcy.
Ramsay, Iain (2006)
Consumer Law, Regulatory Capitalism and the 'New Learning' in Regulation.
Sydney Law Review, 28 (1). pp. 9-35. ISSN 0082-0512.
Abstract This article relates developments in consumer law to the ‘new learning’ about regulation. The new learning describes the growth of decentred regulation associated with the use of instruments of regulation that harness market factors and incentives to the regulatory project. At the same time there is also increased monitoring within government of regulatory initiatives, and more international influence through standards, and regulatory networks. This article explores these developments initially by probing the growth of the conception of the consumer as a regulatory subject and examining the influence of international and regional influences on consumer law. It then analyses several areas of contemporary regulation of consumer markets through the lens of the new learning. The article concludes that the new learning does further our understanding of consumer regulation but that the state still plays a significant role. The distributional impact of the new consumer regulation remains contested. Further empirical research of particular regimes is necessary to determine this impact.
Ramsay, Iain (2006)
Functionalism and Political Economy in the Comparative Study of Consumer Insolvency: An Unfinished Story from England and Wales.
Theoretical Inquiries in Law, 7 (2). pp. 625-666. ISSN 1565-1509.
Abstract This Article is made up of two parts. The first part reflects on the dominant functionalist approach to comparative consumer bankruptcy and suggests that this might be supplemented by a political economy analysis that addresses the role of national and international interest groups, including professionals, and ideology in understanding different national responses to overindebtedness in North America and Europe. The second part examines current reforms to consumer bankruptcy and responses to overindebtedness in the UK through this political economy lens and concludes that competition among professional groups, the role and interests of the Insolvency Service, and the ideology of the Third Way in consumer policy will influence the ultimate structure adopted for addressing consumer insolvency. A study of the English experience suggests that there is also an element of national path dependency to consumer insolvency reform that may resist pressures towards convergence of approaches between countries in addressing issues of consumer insolvency.
Ramsay, Iain (2004)
Productive Disintegration and the Law of Contract: A Comment.
Wisconsin law Review, 2004 (2). pp. 495-505. ISSN 0043-650X.
Ramsay, Iain (2003)
Interest Groups and the Politics of Consumer Bankruptcy Reform in Canada.
University of Toronto Law Journal, 53 (4). pp. 379-423. ISSN 0042–0220.
Ramsay, Iain (2003)
Interest Groups and the Reform of Canadian Consumer Bankruptcy Law.
University of Toronto Law Journal, 53. pp. 379-423. ISSN 0042-0220.
Ramsay, Iain (2002)
Mandatory Bankruptcy Counseling: The Canadian Experience.
Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law, 7 (2). pp. 525-526.
Ramsay, Iain (2001)
The Alternative Consumer Credit Market and Financial Sector: Regulatory Issues and Approaches.
Canadian Business Law Journal, 35 (3). pp. 325-401. ISSN 0319-3322.
Ramsay, Iain (2001)
The Alternative Consumer Credit and Financial Sector: Regulatory Issues and Approaches.
Canadian Business Law Journal, 35. pp. 325-401. ISSN 0319-3322.
Ramsay, Iain (2001)
Commentary: The Politics of Commercial Law.
Wisconsin Law Review, 2001. pp. 565-575. ISSN 0043-650X.
Book Sections
Ramsay, Iain (2009)
"Wannabe Wags and Credit Crunch Binges": The Construction of Over-Indebtedness in the UK.
In: Niemi, Johanna and Ramsay, Iain and Whitford, William Consumer Credit, Debt and Bankruptcy: Comparative and International Perspectives. Hart Publishing, Oxford. ISBN 9781841132587. (in press)
Ramsay, Iain (2006)
Globalization, The Third Way and Consumer Law in the UK.
In: Winn, J. Consumer Protection in the Age of the Information Economy. Markets and the Law. Ashgate, Dartmouth. ISBN 0754647099.
Ramsay, Iain (2005)
From Truth in Lending to Responsible Lending.
In: Howells, G. and Janssen, A. and Schulze, R. Information Rights and Obligations. Ashgate, Dartmouth, pp. 47-65. ISBN 9780754624325.
Ramsay, Iain (2003)
Consumer Credit Society and Consumer Bankruptcy: Reflections on Credit Cards in the Informational Economy.
In: Niemi-Kiesilainen, J. and Whitford, W. and Ramsay, I. Consumer Bankruptcy in a Global Perspective. Hart Publishing, Oxford, pp. 17-39. ISBN 1841133582.
Ramsay, Iain (2003)
Bankruptcy in Transition: The Case of England and Wales-the Neo-Liberal Cuckoo in the European Bankruptcy Nest?
In: Whitford, W. and Niemi-Kiesilainen, J. and Ramsay, I. Consumer Bankruptcy in a Global Perspective. Hart Publishing, Oxford, pp. 205-225. ISBN 1841133582.
Ramsay, Iain (2003)
Consumers’ Access to Justice.
In: Rickett, C. and Telfer, T. International Perspectives on Consumers Access to Justice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 17-45. ISBN 052182432X.
Ramsay, Iain and Niemi-Kiesilainen, Johanna and Whitford, William (2003)
Introduction.
In: Ramsay, Iain and Niemi-Kiesilainen, Johanna and Whitford, William Consumer Bankruptcy in a Global Perspective. Hart Publishing, Oxford, pp. 1-14. ISBN 1841133582.
Edited Books
Niemi-Kiesiläinen, Johanna and Ramsay, Iain and Whitford, William (2004)
Consumer Bankruptcy in Global Perspective.
Hart Publishing, Oxford ISBN 1841133582.
Teaching & SupervisionCurrent Teaching Postgraduate seminars in International and Comparative Consumer Law and Commercial Credit and undergraduate course in Consumer Law. Supervision I am happy to supervise in the areas of regulation of consumer markets, consumer credit and insolvency as well as commercial credit and insolvency. Currently Supervising K Glezakou: PhD "Consumer law and policy" Other Academic ActivitiesOnline supplement Iain Ramsay's Consumer Law and Policy: Text and Materials on Regulating Consumer Markets(Hart 2007) has an online supplement. Editorial Work Editorial Board, Member of Journal of Consumer Policy, Yearbook of Consumer Law, SSRN Consumer Law Journal, Consumer Law Journal(Nigeria), Consumer Law Journal (Brazil), Editor-in-Chief, Osgoode Hall Law Journal 2003-2006. Professional Societies Law and Society Association. External Appointments Member, Federal Task Force on Personal Insolvency (Canada) 2000-2003: have acted as consultant for Federal and provincial governments (Canada) on consumer law and policy, the UK National Consumer Council, Which? and the UK's Office of Fair Trading. Consultant research for Insolvency Service, England and Wales. President, International Association of Consumer Law 2003-07. Administration Director Post-Graduate Teaching
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