This paper finds that stricter laws regulating third-party debt collection reduce the number of third-party debt collectors, lower the recovery rates on delinquent credit card loans, and lead to a modest decrease in the openings of new revolving lines of credit. Further, stricter third-party...

We examine the impact of the 2009 amendments to the Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on insolvency decisions. Rule changes steered debtors out of division I proposals and into the more cost-effective division II proposals. This also led to a significant substitution out of bankruptcies 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...

In Poland, over the past four years we have been witnessing the liberalisation of the laws on consumer bankruptcy which results in an increased number of declared bankruptcies and there are many indications that both phenomena will proceed. This paper deals with some major manifestations of such...

We examine the impact of the 2009 amendments to the Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on insolvency decisions. Rule changes steered debtors out of Division I proposals and into the more cost-effective Division II proposals. It also led to a significant substitution out of bankruptcies and...

This paper questions several longstanding descriptions of consumer bankruptcy in the United States. We focus on Chapter 13, which discharges debts after consumers pay disposable income to creditors for up to five years. Many studies document pathologies, including high failure rates, racial...

We specify and estimate a lifecycle model of consumption, housing demand and labor supply in an environment where individuals may file for bankruptcy or default on their mortgage. Uncertainty in the model is driven by house price shocks, education specific productivity shocks, and catastrophic...

How do financial frictions affect household borrowing and default behavior? To what extent does frictional financial intermediation influence the welfare implications of consumer bankruptcy regulations? To quantitatively address these questions, I develop an Aiyagari-type model with consumer...

We specify and estimate a lifecycle model of consumption, housing demand and labor supply in an environment where individuals may file for bankruptcy or default on their mortgage. Uncertainty in the model is driven by house price shocks, education specific productivity shocks, and catastrophic...

Credit limit variability is a crucial aspect of the consumption, savings, and debt decisions of households in the United States. Using a large panel, this paper first demonstrates that individuals gain and lose access to credit frequently and often have their credit limits reduced unexpectedly....