Is Bankruptcy the Answer for Troubled Cities and States?

32 Pages Posted: 4 Apr 2013

See all articles by David A. Skeel

David A. Skeel

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Date Written: March 3, 2013

Abstract

The financial crisis that has afflicted America’s cities and states for the past decade is far from over. Under existing U.S. law, distressed municipalities can file for bankruptcy if their state permits this, as roughly half do. The states themselves do not have a bankruptcy option, however, no matter how bleak their circumstances may be. There have recently been dramatic developments in the handling of municipal distress. Several cities have filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 9, which, although adequate for sewer and water districts or a very small town, has conventionally been deemed irrelevant for real cities and municipalities. Additionally, several states have enacted or amended their laws to give the state greater control over the finances of troubled municipalities. Other recent developments that might initially seem unrelated may also have important implications for municipal and state distress: (1) the Supreme Court reinvigorated its jurisprudence on federal “commandeering” of the states and (2) the recent crisis in Europe raises questions about the internal dynamics of a federalist framework that also are highly relevant for the U.S. situation. In this 17th Annual Frankel Lecture, Professor David Skeel proposes to take stock of each of these developments, focusing in particular on the lessons they offer about the role of formal restructuring rules in a federal system.

Keywords: State and local government, bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, state and municipal finance, state fiscal control of municipalities, governmental debt, bonds, legislation, rules for restructuring governmental debt, federalism

JEL Classification: H74, H81, K39, G18

Suggested Citation

Skeel, David A., Is Bankruptcy the Answer for Troubled Cities and States? (March 3, 2013). Houston Law Review, 2013, U of Penn, Inst for Law & Econ Research Paper No. 13-9, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2243765

David A. Skeel (Contact Author)

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ( email )

3501 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States
215-573-9859 (Phone)
215-573-2025 (Fax)

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
603
Abstract Views
4,691
Rank
90,143
PlumX Metrics