Download This PaperLiquidity Constraints and Consumer Bankruptcy: Evidence from Tax Rebates
41 Pages Posted: 15 Jan 2012 Last revised: 10 May 2012
Date Written: January 14, 2012
Abstract
This paper estimates the extent to which legal fees prevent liquidity-constrained households from declaring bankruptcy. To do so, it studies how the 2001 and 2008 income tax rebates affected consumer bankruptcy filings. We exploit the randomized timing of the rebate checks and estimate that the rebates caused a significant, short-run increase in consumer bankruptcies in both years, with larger effects in 2008 when the rebates were more generous and more widely distributed. Using hand-collected data from individual bankruptcy petitions, we document that the rebates caused an increase in the total liabilities and debt-to-income ratios of filers.
Keywords: bankruptcy, household finance, BAPCPA, tax rebates
JEL Classification: D12, H31,K19,K29
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Matthew Notowidigdo
University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )
5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
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