The key feature of the modern U.S. personal bankruptcy law is to provide debtors a financial fresh start through debt …. In this paper, we test this fresh start argument by providing the first estimate of the effect of personal bankruptcy … the endogenous self-selection of bankruptcy filing and allows for dependence over time for the same household. We find …

We are the first to examine whether exogenous shocks cause personal bankruptcy through the balance sheet channel and … payments on 200,000 Canadian bankruptcy filings. We find support for the balance sheet channel, in that receipt of the … exogenous cash increases the net balance sheet benefits of bankruptcy (unsecured debt discharged minus liquidated assets forgone …

We are the first to show that the cost of personal bankruptcy filers traveling to their bankruptcy trustees affects … bankruptcy choices. We use detailed balance sheet, income statement, and location data from 400,000 Canadian bankruptcies. To … bankruptcy trustees (while filers interact with trustees, and trustees interact with local government, filers do not interact …