Since the inception of the first permanent American bankruptcy law in 1898, the intellectual and political understanding of consumer bankruptcy has been anchored in a model that views bankruptcies as resulting from household financial distress. For much of the Twentieth Century, this traditional...

The collapse of the subprime mortgage market has led to calls for greater regulation to protect homeowners from unwittingly trapping themselves in high-cost loans that lead to foreclosure, bankruptcy, or other financial problems. Weighed against this catastrophe are the benefits that have...

This is the entry for quot;Evolutionary Psychologyquot; in the Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives. This entry provides a summary and overview of the science of evolutionary psychology and its implications for the study of law. Understanding how evolution has shaped...

This is the entry for quot;Consumer Bankruptcy, Doctrinal Issues Inquot; in the Encyclopedia of Law and Society: American and Global Perspectives. This entry provides a summary and overview of the law and policy of consumer bankruptcy. First, it summarizes the American bankruptcy law legal...

The skyrocketing bankruptcy filing rates of recent years are well known. Some commentators and scholars have charged that the cause of the bankruptcy boom has been promiscuous lending by credit card issuers and irrational borrowing by credit card users. Spurred on by high-profits, it is argued...