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Dealing with consumer default: bankruptcy vs. garnishment

Author Info

  • Satyajit Chatterjee
  • Grey Gordon

Abstract

What are the positive and normative implications of eliminating bankruptcy protection for indebted individuals? Without bankruptcy protection, creditors can collect on defaulted debt to the extent permitted by wage garnishment laws. The elimination lowers the default premium on unsecured debt and permits low-net-worth individuals suffering bad earnings shocks to smooth consumption by borrowing. There is a large increase in consumer debt financed essentially by super-wealthy individuals, a modest drop in capital per worker, and a higher frequency of consumer default. Average welfare rises by 1 percent of consumption in perpetuity, with about 90 percent of households favoring the change.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in its series Working Papers with number 11-35.

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Date of creation: 2011
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpwp:11-35
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Keywords: Default (Finance) ; Bankruptcy ; Consumer credit;

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  13. Kartik B. Athreya & Xuan S. Tam & Eric R. Young, 2009. "Are harsh penalties for default really better?," Working Paper 09-11, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
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Cited by:

  1. Will Dobbie & Jae Song, 2014. "Debt Relief and Debtor Outcomes: Measuring the Effects of Consumer Bankruptcy Protection," NBER Working Papers 20520, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  2. Athreya, Kartik B. & Sanchez, Juan M. & Tam, Xuan S. & Young, Eric R., 2014. "Labor market upheaval, default regulations, and consumer debt," Working Papers 2014-2, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
  3. Grey Gordon, 2014. "Optimal Bankruptcy Code: A Fresh Start for Some," Caepr Working Papers 2014-002, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Economics Department, Indiana University Bloomington.

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