Although U.S. bankruptcy ling rates are at an all-time high, I argue in this paper that many more households would benet nancially from ling for bankruptcy than actually le. While the current bankruptcy ling rate is slightly above one percent of households each year, I calculate that at least...

This article rst examines the economic justication for having a personal bankruptcy procedure at all. I argue that it is economically worthwhile to have a bankruptcy pro- cedure, but that costs rise more quickly than benets as the exemption level increases.