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How much debtors' punishment?

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  • Araújo, Aloísio Pessoa de
  • Funchal, Bruno

Abstract

This paper investigates how the bankruptcy exemptions applied by the Personal Bankruptcy Law in each American state a§ect the aggregated level of individuals and small businessesí loans. Higher levels of bankruptcy exemptions imply in a lenient rule, motivating debtors to Öle for bankruptcy, what makes lenders worsen the terms of credit. On the other hand, lower levels of exemptions imply in a harsh punishment to debtors, inhibiting their demand for credit fearing a possible bankruptcy by bad luck. ConÖrming the theoretical claims, empirical tests show the existence of a non-monotonic shape in the relationship between the bankruptcy exemptions and the amount of credit to individuals and small businesses, where the optimal level of exemptions should be neither too high nor too low. Since the majority of the states in U.S. do not apply the optimal level, an intervention that brings the exemption level closer to the optimal one can be credit and welfare enhancing.

Suggested Citation

  • Araújo, Aloísio Pessoa de & Funchal, Bruno, 2006. "How much debtors' punishment?," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 615, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).
    • Handle: RePEc:fgv:epgewp:615
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    Cited by:

    1. Kyle F Herkenhoff, 2019. "The Impact of Consumer Credit Access on Unemployment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(6), pages 2605-2642.
    2. Monteiro, Paulo Klinger, 2009. "First-price auction symmetric equilibria with a general distribution," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 256-269, January.
    3. Lima, Luiz Renato & Néri, Breno Pinheiro, 2007. "Comparing Value-at-Risk Methodologies," Brazilian Review of Econometrics, Sociedade Brasileira de Econometria - SBE, vol. 27(1), May.
    4. Renato G. Flôres & Maria Paula Fontoura & Rogério Guerra Santos, 2007. "Foreign Direct Investment Spillovers in Portugal: Additional Lessons from a Country Study," The European Journal of Development Research, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 372-390.
    5. Funchal, Bruno, 2008. "The effects of the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform in Brazil," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 84-86, October.
    6. Cavalcanti, Ricardo de Oliveira & Wallace, Neil, 2006. "New models of old(?) payment questions," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 619, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).
    7. Flôres Junior, Renato Galvão, 2006. "Dois ensaios sobre diversidade cultural e o comércio de serviços," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 622, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).
    8. Kyle F. Herkenhoff, 2012. "Informal unemployment insurance and labor market dynamics," Working Papers 2012-057, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    9. Araújo, Fabio & Issler, João Victor & Fernandes, Marcelo, 2006. "A stochastic discount factor approach to asset pricing using panel data," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 628, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).
    10. Zhijie Xiao & Luiz Renato Lima, 2007. "Testing Covariance Stationarity," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(6), pages 643-667.
    11. Flôres Junior, Renato Galvão, 2006. "The diversity of diversity: further methodological considerations on the use of the concept in cultural economics," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 626, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).
    12. Aloisio Araujo & Bruno Funchal & Rafael Ferreira, 2010. "The Brazilian Bankruptcy Law Experiment," Fucape Working Papers 23, Fucape Business School.
    13. Lima, Luiz Renato & Gaglianone, Wagner Piazza & Sampaio, Raquel M.B., 2008. "Debt ceiling and fiscal sustainability in Brazil: A quantile autoregression approach," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 313-335, June.

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