We study the influence of financial institutions' network on private debt renegotiation outside of distress. Lenders with a network-central position have access to superior private information, are more experienced and trustworthy and have a greater reputational capital. Using a large sample of...

What is the optimal consumer bankruptcy law? I examine this question in the context of an incomplete markets lifecycle model with a planner who can choose state-contingent bankruptcy costs. I develop two key theoretical characterizations. First, the optimal policy has a bang-bang property: The...