WASHINGTON — A working paper that explicitly avoids taking a formal role in policy discussion has nonetheless been drawn into the energetic debate over the merits and demerits of payday lending.

Donald Morgan is a researcher for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York whose primary areas of interest, according to his online profile, are bank loan pricing and credit standards, geographic diversification in banking, credit effects of monetary policy and predatory lending. In November he released a working paper he prepared with the help of a graduate student assistant from Cornell University, Michael Strain, which sought to examine the consumer impact of payday lending bans.

The paper carries a disclaimer on its title page, stating that it “presents preliminary findings and is being distributed to economists and other interested readers solely to stimulate discussion and elicit comments.” It adds that “views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and are not necessarily reflective of views at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System.”