We provide a novel explanation to the longstanding puzzle of the “missing bankruptcy filings.” Even though a household … with a negative net worth will receive contemporaneous benefit from bankruptcy, there may be greater insurance value from … delaying the filing. Household bankruptcy is thus an American-style put option, which is not necessarily exercised even if the …

variations in travel-related entry costs into the Canadian consumer bankruptcy system. Using detailed balance sheet and travel … bankruptcy (unsecured debt discharged, minus secured assets forgone). When compared across filers, each extra kilometer traveled … to access the bankruptcy system requires approximately $11 more in financial benefits from bankruptcy. {{p …

We examine how household balance sheets and income statements interact to affect bankruptcy decisions following an …) reduces the count of bankruptcies, with fewer remaining filers having higher net balance sheet benefits of bankruptcy … lower net balance sheet benefits under bankruptcy law to select out of bankruptcy …