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Peers’ Income and Financial Distress: Evidence from Lottery Winners and Neighboring Bankruptcies

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  • Sumit Agarwal
  • Vyacheslav Mikhed
  • Barry Scholnick

Abstract

We examine whether relative income differences among peers can generate financial distress. Using lottery winnings as plausibly exogenous variations in the relative income of peers, we find that the dollar magnitude of a lottery win of one neighbor increases subsequent borrowing and bankruptcies among other neighbors. We also examine which factors may mitigate lenders’ bankruptcy risk in these neighborhoods. We show that bankruptcy filers obtain more secured, but not unsecured, debt, and lenders provide additional credit to low-risk, but not high-risk, debtors. In addition, we find evidence consistent with local lenders taking advantage of soft information to mitigate credit risk.Received October 12, 2016; editorial decision January 15, 2019 by Editor Philip Strahan. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.

Suggested Citation

  • Sumit Agarwal & Vyacheslav Mikhed & Barry Scholnick, 2020. "Peers’ Income and Financial Distress: Evidence from Lottery Winners and Neighboring Bankruptcies," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(1), pages 433-472.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rfinst:v:33:y:2020:i:1:p:433-472.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rfs/hhz047
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    3. Brad R. Humphreys & Jane E. Ruseski, "undated". "Legalized Sports Betting and Mental Health," Working Papers 24-04, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    4. Song, Yang & Wu, Weixing & Zhou, Guangsu, 2020. "Inequality of opportunity and household risky asset investment: Evidence from panel data in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    5. Catherine, Sylvain & Yannelis, Constantine, 2023. "The distributional effects of student loan forgiveness," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(2), pages 297-316.
    6. Deng, Xin & Yu, Mingzhe, 2021. "Does the marginal child increase household debt? – Evidence from the new fertility policy in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    7. McCartney, W. Ben & Shah, Avni M., 2022. "Household mortgage refinancing decisions are neighbor influenced, especially along racial lines," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    8. Laura Policardo & Edgar J. Sanchez Carrera, 2024. "Effects of Wealth Inequality and Segregation on Economic Growth: An Interpretation via Luxury Asset Holdings," Working Papers - Economics wp2024_09.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    9. Ratbek Dzhumashev & Ainura Tursunalieva, 2023. "Social externalities, endogenous childcare costs, and fertility choice," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 397-429, January.
    10. Banuri, Sheheryar & Nguyen, Ha, 2023. "Borrowing to keep up (with the Joneses): Inequality, debt, and conspicuous consumption," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 222-242.
    11. Behringer, Jan & Endres, Lukas & van Treeck, Till, 2023. "Income inequality, household consumption and status competition in Germany," ifso working paper series 25, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Socioeconomics (ifso).
    12. Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola & Haliassos, Michael, 2021. "Participation following sudden access," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 671-688.
    13. Schulz, Jan & Mayerhoffer, Daniel M., 2021. "A network approach to consumption," BERG Working Paper Series 173, Bamberg University, Bamberg Economic Research Group.
    14. Policardo, Laura & Sanchez Carrera, Edgar J., 2024. "Wealth inequality and economic growth: Evidence from the US and France," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    15. Looney, Adam & Yannelis, Constantine, 2022. "The consequences of student loan credit expansions: Evidence from three decades of default cycles," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 771-793.
    16. Fan, Ying & Sing, Tien Foo, 2021. "Macroeconomic policy-induced wealth effects on Chinese foreign housing investments," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    17. Aymeric Bellon & J. Anthony Cookson & Erik P. Gilje & Rawley Z. Heimer, 2020. "Personal Wealth and Self-Employment," NBER Working Papers 27452, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Huang, Kevin X.D. & Liu, Fengqi & Meng, Qinglai & Xue, Jianpo, 2022. "Keeping up with the Joneses and the consumption response to government spending," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    19. Majlesi, Kaveh & Molin, Elin & Roth, Paula, 2024. "Severe Health Shocks and Financial Well-Being," CINCH Working Paper Series (since 2020) 82497, Duisburg-Essen University Library, DuEPublico.
    20. W. Ben McCartney & Avni Shah, 2021. "Household Mortgage Refinancing Decisions Are Neighbor Influenced," Working Papers 21-16, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    21. Shakeba Foster, 2023. "Income inequality and household debt: Examining the impact of relative income on formal and informal debt in South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-37, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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