In early 2005 a new bankruptcy law was approved by the Brazilian Congress, taking effect a few months later. The new legislation improved creditor protection and the bankruptcy system's efficiency. This paper tries to shed some light on the empirical consequences of a bankruptcy reform on a...

In early 2005, the Brazilian Congress approved a new bankruptcy law. The new legislation increased creditor protection and improved the efficiency of the bankruptcy system. This paper evaluates the empirical consequences of a bankruptcy reform on a poorly developed credit market. Using data from...

I exploit variation in the congestion of civil courts across Brazilian municipalities, together with a bankruptcy reform increasing secured creditors' protection, to estimate the effect of enforcement on firm access to finance, investment and size. I find that firms operating in municipalities...

I exploit variation in the congestion of civil courts across Brazilian municipalities, together with a bankruptcy reform increasing secured creditors' protection, to estimate the effect of enforcement on firm access to finance, investment and size. I find that firms operating in municipalities...

Judicial decisions in bankruptcy are often influenced by the goal of preserving employment. Using the text of judicial decisions and the random assignment of cases across courts in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil, we construct a novel court-level measure of pro-labor bias and study its effect...