In this paper we aim to understand the evolution of household portfolios, defined broadly enough to include both human and financial wealth positions, over the life-cycle. A key feature of our approach is to include lumpy initial investments (formal education) and subsequent “on the...

In 2005, bankruptcy laws were reformed significantly, making personal bankruptcy substantially more costly to file than before. Shortly after, the US began to experience its most severe recession in seventy years. While personal bankruptcy rates rose, they rose only modestly given the severity...