Consumer bankruptcy is one of the largest social insurance programs in the United States,
but little is known about its impact on debtors. We use 500,000 bankruptcy filings matched to …

We exploit variation in the congestion of civil courts across Brazilian municipalities, together
with a bankruptcy reform increasing secured creditors' protection, to estimate the effect of …

This paper argues that the debt forgiveness provided by the US consumer bankruptcy
system helped stabilize employment levels during the Great Recession. We document that …

A more generous consumer bankruptcy system provides greater insurance against financial
risks but may also raise the cost of credit. We study this trade-off using the 2005 Bankruptcy …

This paper studies the role of moral hazard and liquidity in driving household bankruptcy.
First, I estimate that increases in potential debt forgiveness have a positive, but small, effect …

Governments regulate debt collectors to protect consumers from predatory practices. These
restrictions may lower repayment, reducing the supply of mainstream credit and increasing …

This paper reviews and extends the literature on the costs and benefits of household debt
relief. Debt relief transfers resources from creditors or taxpayers to debtors. This transfer can …

We exploit state-level changes in the amount of personal wealth individuals can protect
under Chapter 7 to analyze the effect of debtor protection on the financing structure and …

Do deals with debt collectors alleviate consumer financial distress? Using new data linking
court and credit registry records, we examine civil collection lawsuits where consumers can …

Does the ability to pledge an asset as collateral, after purchase, affect its price? This paper
identifies the impact of collateral service flows on house prices, exploiting a plausibly …