'The End of Bankruptcy' Revisited

20 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2016

See all articles by Robert K. Rasmussen

Robert K. Rasmussen

University of Southern California Gould School of Law

Date Written: August 11, 2016

Abstract

The End of Bankruptcy, published in 2002, set forth a view of corporate bankruptcy based on a theory of the firm. It argued that, for a traditional Chapter 11 proceeding to be necessary, it had to be the case that a firm had going concern surplus, that the firm’s investors cannot realign the capital structure through normal bargaining, and that a going-concern sale is not possible. Changes outside of bankruptcy had made each of these necessary preconditions less common. This chapter revisits this work, and shows that, despite the upheaval of the Great Recession, it remains the case that traditional reorganizations remain rare. Chapter 11 continues to play a role in our modern economy; it is just not the role that its drafters envisioned.

Suggested Citation

Rasmussen, Robert K., 'The End of Bankruptcy' Revisited (August 11, 2016). USC CLASS Research Paper No. CLASS 16-26, USC Law Legal Studies Paper No. 16-28, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2821838 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2821838

Robert K. Rasmussen (Contact Author)

University of Southern California Gould School of Law ( email )

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