A General Equilibrium Analysis of Personal Bankruptcy Law

C-Tier
Journal: Economica
Year: 2016
Volume: 83
Issue: 329
Pages: 31-58

Authors (2)

Ulf Lilienfeld-Toal (not in RePEc) Dilip Mookherjee (Boston University)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="ecca12167-abs-0001"> <p>We analyse an economy where principals and agents match and contract subject to moral hazard. Bankruptcy law defines the limited liability constraint in these contracts. We analyse Walrasian allocations to generate the following predictions: (i) weakening bankruptcy law causes redistribution of debt and welfare from poor agents and principals to rich agents; (ii) exemption limits Pareto-dominate other bankruptcy laws if project size is fixed; (iii) means-testing (as in recent US personal bankruptcy law) that is ex post pro-poor in intent makes the poor worse off ex ante.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:econom:v:83:y:2016:i:329:p:31-58
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-26