We examine the consequences of a sudden increase in household debt burdens by exploiting variation in exposure to household foreign currency debt during Hungary's late-2008 currency crisis. The revaluation of debt burdens causes higher default rates and a collapse in spending. These responses...

We examine the consequences of a sudden increase in household debt burdens by exploiting variation in exposure to household foreign currency debt during Hungary's late-2008 currency crisis. The revaluation of debt burdens leads to higher default rates and a collapse in spending. These responses...

How does bankruptcy affect the dynamics of aggregate consumption? We quantify the trade-off between the insurance and creditworthiness effects of bankruptcy in response to tighter credit.We show that bankruptcy dampens the effect of tighter credit on aggregate consumption on impact because it...

The proportion of non-performing loans (NPLs) constitutes an objective measure of capital adequacy for individual banks and is one of the critical indicators of a country's economic efficiency. Beginning with the United States in the late 1980s, there has been a succession of non-performing loan...

How does bankruptcy affect the dynamics of aggregate consumption? We quantify the trade-off between the insurance and creditworthiness effects of bankruptcy in response to tighter credit. We show that bankruptcy dampens the effect of tighter credit on aggregate consumption on impact because it...

We study the quantitative impact of lender control rights on firm investment, asset prices, and the aggregate economy. We build a general equilibrium model with endogenous loan covenants, in which the breaching of a covenant (technical default) entails a switch in investment control rights from...

Millions of Americans have negative housing equity, meaning that the outstanding balance on their mortgage exceeds their home's current market value. Our data show that the overwhelming majority of these households will not lose their homes. Our finding is consistent with historical evidence: we...

Consumer credit and consumer bankruptcy filings have grown rapidly over the last two decades, and several researchers have attempted to understand the relationship between these two intertwined features of the modern American economy. Teasing out causation is almost impossible, as consumer...

We present a dynamic structural model of subprime adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) borrowers making payment decisions, taking into account possible consequences of different degrees of delinquency from their lenders. We empirically implement the model using unique data sets that contain...

Auto lenders were perhaps the biggest winners of the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform. Cars depreciate quickly, so borrowers often owe more than their car is worth. Prior to the Reform, these borrowers could reduce the principal on their auto loan to the market value of the car through a “cramdown” in...