Using new household level data, we quantitatively assess the roles that (i) job loss, (ii) negative equity, and (iii) wealth (including unsecured debt, liquid, and illiquid assets) play in default decisions. In sharp contrast to prior studies that proxy for individual unemployment status using...

Using new household-level data, we quantitatively assess the roles that job loss, negative equity, and wealth (including unsecured debt, liquid assets, and illiquid assets) play in default decisions. In sharp contrast to prior studies that proxy for individual unemployment status using regional...

We address a number of comparative issues relating to the performance of failure prediction models for small, private firms. We use two models provided by vendors, a model developed by the National Bank of Belgium, and the Altman Z-score model to investigate model power, the extent of...

Policy efforts to revitalise entrepreneurship and investment in Spain are key to generating growth and new jobs. The government has a substantial reform program to make it easier to do business in Spain, which should in some cases be deepened. Boosting economic growth requires a new generation...

A recent bench ruling (the "Bench Ruling") by the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York in the Lehman-Metavente matter held that an “out of the money” non-debtor party to a swap agreement with an “in the money” bankrupt counterparty could not rely on section 2(A)(III) of...

We address a number of comparative issues relating to the performance of failure prediction models for small, private firms. We use two models provided by vendors, a model developed by the National Bank of Belgium, and the Altman Z-score model to investigate model power, the extent of...

We develop a closed economy model to study the interactions among sovereign risk premia, fiscal limits, and fiscal policy. The stochastic fiscal limits, which measure the ability and willingness of the government to service its debt, arise endogenously from a dynamic Laffer curve. The...

We develop a closed economy model in order to study the interactions among sovereign risk premia, fiscal limits and fiscal policy. Default risk premia reflect the market's expectations about the ability and willingness of the government to service its debt. The government's ability arises...