This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

An Optimal Personal Bankruptcy Procedure and Proposed Reforms

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Wang, Hung-Jen
White, Michelle J

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

We investigate a new approach to the reform of U.S. personal bankruptcy law in which Chapters 7 and 13 would be combined. The proposed reform obliges debtors in bankruptcy to use part of both their wealth and their future earnings to repay debt and therefore bases the obligation to repay in bankruptcy on debtors' ability to pay from both sources. An important function of personal bankruptcy is to provide partial wealth insurance for risk-averse debtors by discharging some debt when debtors' ability to repay turns out to be low. However, the current bankruptcy system encourages debtors to file for bankruptcy even when their ability to repay is high. The proposed reform maintains the insurance function of bankruptcy but reduces debtors' incentive to take advantage of the system. Using simulation techniques, we investigate the properties of a bankruptcy reform in which both the wealth exemption and the postbankruptcy earnings exemption are optimized. We show that the proposed reform improves efficiency relative to the current system. Copyright 2000 by the University of Chicago.

Download Info
To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
1. Check below under "Related research" whether another version of this item is available online.
2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

Publisher Info
Article provided by University of Chicago Press in its journal Journal of Legal Studies.

Volume (Year): 29 (2000)
Issue (Month): 1 (January)
Pages: 255-86
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:29:y:2000:i:1:p:255-86

Contact details of provider:
Postal: The University of Chicago Press, Journals Division, P.O. Box 37005 Chicago, IL 60637
Fax: (773) 753-0811
Email:
Web page: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JLS/

Order Information:
Web: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JLS/order1.html

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
  1. Sherry Glied, 2003. "Health Insurance Expansions and the Content of Coverage: Is Something Better Than Nothing?," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 6(1), pages 1046-1046. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Ji, Tingting, 2004. "Consumer Credit Delinquency And Bankruptcy Forecasting Using Advanced Econometrc Modeling," MPRA Paper 3187, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  3. Eva-Maria Steiger, 2006. "Ex-Ante vs. Ex-Post Efficiency in Personal Bankruptcy Proceedings," Papers on Strategic Interaction 2006-17, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Strategic Interaction Group. [Downloadable!]
  4. Alena Bicakova, 2007. "Does the Good Matter? Evidence on Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection from Consumer Credit Market," Economics Working Papers ECO2007/02, European University Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Wenli Li, 2001. "To forgive or not to forgive : an analysis of U.S. consumer bankruptcy choices," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue Spr, pages 1-22. [Downloadable!]
  6. Jochen Bigus & Eva-Maria Steiger, 2006. "When it pays to be honest: How a variable period of good conduct can improve incentives in personal bankruptcy proceedings," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 233-253, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Wenli Li & Pierre-Daniel G. Sarte, 2002. "The macroeconomics of U.S. consumer bankruptcy choice : chapter 7 or chapter 13?," Working Paper 02-01, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Inderst, Roman, 2006. "Consumer Lending When Lenders are More Sophisticated Than Households," CEPR Discussion Papers 5410, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. repec:bep:thecon:v:3:y:2003:i:1:p:1060-1060 is not listed on IDEAS
  10. Tarun Sabarwal, 2000. "Welfare Effects of Bankruptcy," Levine's Working Paper Archive 1980, David K. Levine. [Downloadable!]
  11. Ji, Tingting, 2004. "Essays on consumer portfolio choice and credit risk," MPRA Paper 3161, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? It is the publishers that input data about their publications, as there is no staff at RePEc.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-16.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.