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

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  • 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 United States 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 argument for giving bankruptcy judges new power to change the terms of residential mortgage contracts in bankruptcy. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Michelle J. White, 2009. "Bankruptcy: Past Puzzles, Recent Reforms, and the Mortgage Crisis," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 11(1), pages 1-23.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:amlawe:v:11:y:2009:i:1:p:1-23
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/aler/ahp002
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Fernandes & John G. Lynch & Richard G. Netemeyer, 2014. "Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Downstream Financial Behaviors," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(8), pages 1861-1883, August.
    2. John Y. Campbell & Howell E. Jackson & Brigitte C. Madrian & Peter Tufano, 2011. "Consumer Financial Protection," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(1), pages 91-114, Winter.
    3. Berg, Nathan & Kim, Jeong-Yoo, 2010. "Demand for Self Control: A model of Consumer Response to Programs and Products that Moderate Consumption," MPRA Paper 26593, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Corradin, S. & Gropp, R. & Huizinga, H.P. & Laeven, L., 2010. "Who Invests in Home Equity to Exempt Wealth from Bankruptcy?," Discussion Paper 2010-118, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    5. Zhang, Yan, 2013. "Does loan renegotiation differ by securitization status? A transition probability study," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 513-527.
    6. Dinterman, Robert & Katchova, Ani, 2018. "Survival Analysis of Farm Bankruptcy Filings," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274117, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Garrett, Thomas A. & Wall, Howard J., 2014. "Personal-Bankruptcy Cycles," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(7), pages 1488-1507, October.
    8. Uluc Aysun & Raman Khaddaria, 2012. "Bankruptcy resolution capacity and regional economic fluctuations," Working Papers 2012-01, University of Central Florida, Department of Economics.
    9. Kim, Jiseob, 2015. "Household’s optimal mortgage and unsecured loan default decision," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 222-244.
    10. repec:ces:ifodic:v:13:y:2016:i:4:p:19189881 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Collins, J. Michael & Urban, Carly, 2018. "The effects of a foreclosure moratorium on loan repayment behaviors," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 73-83.
    12. Hongchang Wang & Eric M. Overby, 2022. "How Does Online Lending Influence Bankruptcy Filings?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3309-3329, May.
    13. John Y. Campbell, 2013. "Mortgage Market Design," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 17(1), pages 1-33.
    14. Michelle J. White, 2016. "Economics of Personal Bankruptcy and Insolvency," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(04), pages 03-07, February.
    15. Aysun, Uluc, 2014. "Bankruptcy resolution capacity and economic fluctuations," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 387-399.
    16. Cambpbell, John Y. & Jackson, Howell Edmunds & Madrian, Brigitte & Tufano, Peter, 2010. "The Regulation of Consumer Financial Products: An Introductory Essay with Four Case Studies," Scholarly Articles 4450128, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    17. Michelle J. White, 2016. "Economics of Personal Bankruptcy and Insolvency," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(4), pages 03-07, 02.
    18. Soyoung Lee, 2023. "The Macroeconomic Effects of Debt Relief Policies During Recessions," Staff Working Papers 23-48, Bank of Canada.
    19. Agarwal, Sumit & Zhang, Yunqi, 2018. "Effects of government bailouts on mortgage modification," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 54-70.
    20. Samir Amine & Wilner Predelus, 2019. "The Persistence of the 2008-2009 Recession and Insolvency Filings in Canada," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 84-93.
    21. Piskorski, Tomasz & Seru, Amit & Vig, Vikrant, 2010. "Securitization and distressed loan renegotiation: Evidence from the subprime mortgage crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 369-397, September.
    22. Robert Dinterman & Ani L. Katchova, 2021. "Survival analysis of farm bankruptcy filings: Evaluating the time to completion of chapter 12 bankruptcy cases," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(2), pages 324-347, April.
    23. Cerqueiro, G.M., 2009. "Information asymmetries, banking markets, and small business lending," Other publications TiSEM 6b448af8-d15e-4862-923f-2, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.

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