The Ticket to Easy Street? The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery
28 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2009 Last revised: 24 Jun 2010
There are 2 versions of this paper
The Ticket to Easy Street? The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery
The Ticket to Easy Street? The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery
Date Written: March 26, 2010
Abstract
This paper examines whether giving large cash transfers to financially distressed people causes them to avoid bankruptcy. A comparison of Florida Lottery winners who randomly received $50,000 to $150,000 to small winners indicates that such transfers only postpone bankruptcy rather than prevent it, a result inconsistent with the negative shock model of bankruptcy. Furthermore, the large winners who subsequently filed for bankruptcy had similar net assets and unsecured debt as small winners. Thus, our findings suggest that skepticism regarding the long-term impact of cash transfers may be warranted.
Keywords: Lottery; Bankruptcy; Consumer Behavior
JEL Classification: D14; K35; D12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation