Overbuilding in commercial real estate in the 1980s is commonly viewed as an example of a speculative bubble. This paper questions that view and proposes an environment in which overbuilding could occur as a rational response to fiscal policy in the 1980s. Further, this paper contends that...

This article identifies four U.S. credit crunches-periods of sharply increased non-price credit rationing-between 1960 and 1992. Extreme intimidation of banks by the Federal Reserve and U.S. federal government through jawboning and credible threats of increased regulatory oversight caused the...

Because of the recent surge in U.S. personal defaults, Congress is currently debating bankruptcy reform legislation requiring a means test for Chapter 7 filers. This paper explores the effects of such a reform in a model where, in contrast to previous work, bankruptcy options and production are...