"By compiling a novel dataset from bankruptcy court dockets recorded in Delaware between 2001 and 2002, we build and … estimate a structural model of Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This allows us to quantify how key debtor characteristics, including … whether they are experiencing bankruptcy for the first time, their past due secured debt at the time of filing, and income in …

From 1980 to 2004, the number of personal bankruptcy filings in the United States increased more than five-fold, from … 288,000 to 1.5 million per year. Lenders responded to the high filing rate with a major lobbying campaign for bankruptcy … reform that led to the adoption in 2005 of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), which made …