Debtors' Assessments of Bankruptcy Financial Education

Thorne, Deborah; Porter, Katherine M.

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Debtors' Assessments of Bankruptcy Financial Education

FINANCIAL DECISIONS ACROSS THE LIFESPAN, Douglas Lamdin, ed., Springer, Forthcoming

University of Iowa Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-28

31 Pages Posted: 10 Aug 2010 Last revised: 5 Sep 2010

See all articles by Deborah Thorne

Katherine M. Porter

University of California - Irvine School of Law

Date Written: August 6, 2010

Abstract

Bankruptcy law now requires individuals to complete a financial education class to receive a discharge of debts. Using data from the 2007 Consumer Bankruptcy Project, this chapter examines debtors’ attitudes about the value of financial education. The data shows that debtors’ attitudes vary by race, educational attainment, age, and familiarity with household finances. While many debtors express optimism about the future benefits of financial education, only about one in three debtors believes financial education could have prevented their bankruptcy. These findings have implications for designing financial education curricula and for understanding the causal relationship between financial distress and financial knowledge.

Keywords: Consumer Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy, Financial Education, Financial Literacy, BAPCPA

JEL Classification: G33, D12, D18, K40

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Thorne, Deborah and Porter, Katherine M., Debtors' Assessments of Bankruptcy Financial Education (August 6, 2010). FINANCIAL DECISIONS ACROSS THE LIFESPAN, Douglas Lamdin, ed., Springer, Forthcoming, University of Iowa Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-28, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1654417