This paper demonstrates the important role of job displacement in the household bankruptcy decision. I develop a dynamic, forward-looking model of unemployment and bankruptcy where persistent negative income shocks increase a household's likelihood of filing for bankruptcy both immediately and...

Using a unique dataset of credit card mailings, we show that during the recent credit boom, consumers with mediocre credit scores received more credit card solicitations than those with high credit scores. However, this relationship reversed after the financial crisis. We also nd that consumers...

We use credit report data for a representative sample of 35 million individuals over 2000-2016 to examine consumer financial distress in the United States. We show there are large, persistent geographic disparities in consumer financial distress, with low levels in the Upper Midwest and high...