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Bankruptcy: Past Puzzles, Recent Reforms, and the Mortgage Crisis

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Author Info
Michelle J. White
Abstract

This paper discusses four bankruptcy-related policy issues. First, what is the economic rationale for having a bankruptcy procedure at all and what defines an economically efficient bankruptcy procedure? Second, why did the number of U.S. bankruptcy filings increase so dramatically between 1980 and 2005? Third, a major bankruptcy reform went into effect in the U.S. in 2005--what did it do and how did it affect credit and mortgage markets? Finally, the paper discusses the mortgage crisis, the high social cost of foreclosures, and the difficulty of avoiding foreclosure by voluntarily renegotiation of mortgage contracts, even when such renegotiations are in the joint interest of debtors and creditors. I also discuss the pros and cons of government programs to refinance mortgages and the possibility of giving bankruptcy judges new power to change the terms of mortgage contracts in bankruptcy.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 14549.

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Date of creation: Dec 2008
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14549

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
K35 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Personal Bankruptcy Law
R31 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Production Analysis and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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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. John M. Barron & Michael E. Staten & Stephanie M. Wilshusen, 2002. "The Impact Of Casino Gambling On Personal Bankruptcy Filing Rates," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 20(4), pages 440-455, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Adam B. Ashcraft & Astrid A. Dick & Donald P. Morgan, 2007. "The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act: means-testing or mean spirited?," Staff Reports 279, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [Downloadable!]
  3. John Armour & Douglas Cumming, 2005. "Bankruptcy Law and Entrepreneurship," ESRC Centre for Business Research - Working Papers wp300, ESRC Centre for Business Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Scott Fay & Erik Hurst & Michelle J. White, 2002. "The Household Bankruptcy Decision," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(3), pages 706-718, June. [Downloadable!]
  5. Larry Cordell & Karen Dynan & Andreas Lehnert & Nellie Liang & Eileen Mauskopf, 2008. "The incentives of mortgage servicers: myths and realities," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2008-46, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  6. Reint Gropp & John Karl Scholz & Michelle White, 1996. "Personal Bankruptcy and Credit Supply and Demand," NBER Working Papers 5653, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Mark Doms & John Krainer, 2007. "Innovations in mortgage markets and increased spending on housing," Working Paper Series 2007-05, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. [Downloadable!]
  8. Donald P. Morgan & Benjamin Iverson & Matthew Botsch, 2008. "Seismic effects of the bankruptcy reform," Staff Reports 358, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [Downloadable!]
  9. Kristopher Gerardi & Adam Hale Shapiro & Paul S. Willen, 2007. "Subprime outcomes: risky mortgages, homeownership experiences, and foreclosures," Working Papers 07-15, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. [Downloadable!]
  10. Berkowitz, Jeremy & Hynes, Richard, 1999. "Bankruptcy Exemptions and the Market for Mortgage Loans," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 809-30, October.
  11. David B. Gross & Nicholas S. Souleles, 2002. "Do Liquidity Constraints And Interest Rates Matter For Consumer Behavior? Evidence From Credit Card Data," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(1), pages 149-185, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Fan, Wei & White, Michelle J, 2003. "Personal Bankruptcy and the Level of Entrepreneurial Activity," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(2), pages 543-67, October.
  13. Charles Grant & Winfried Koeniger, 2005. "Redistributive Taxation and Personal Bankruptcy in US States," IZA Discussion Papers 1805, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  14. David B. Gross, 2002. "An Empirical Analysis of Personal Bankruptcy and Delinquency," Review of Financial Studies, Oxford University Press for Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(1), pages 319-347, March.
    Other versions:
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