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Who is screened out of social insurance programs by entry barriers? Evidence from consumer bankruptcies

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  • Vyacheslav Mikhed
  • Barry Scholnick

Abstract

Entry barriers into social insurance programs will be effective screening devices if they cause only those individuals receiving higher benefits from a program to participate in that program. We find evidence for this by using plausibly exogenous variations in travel-related entry costs into the Canadian consumer bankruptcy system. Using detailed balance sheet and travel data, we find that higher travel-related entry costs reduce bankruptcies from individuals with lower financial benefits of bankruptcy (unsecured debt discharged, minus secured assets forgone). When compared across filers, each extra kilometer traveled to access the bankruptcy system requires approximately $11 more in financial benefits from bankruptcy. {{p}}Supersedes Working Paper 14-18

Suggested Citation

  • Vyacheslav Mikhed & Barry Scholnick, 2015. "Who is screened out of social insurance programs by entry barriers? Evidence from consumer bankruptcies," Working Papers 15-40, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedpwp:15-40
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social insurance; Consumer bankruptcy; Filing costs; Entry barriers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • K35 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Personal Bankruptcy Law

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