Personal Bankruptcy Under the 1978 Bankruptcy Code: An Economic Analysis

Abstract

Between the late 1970's and the early 1980's, the number of personal bankruptcy cases filed in the United States each year more than doubled, from around 200,000 to around 450,000 filings per year.'In a recent sample of personal bankruptcy cases that closed in 1982, the average debtor had liabilities of all types totaling about $34,000 at the time of the bankruptcy filing, but repaid only about $200.2This combination of a high and rising number of personal bankruptcy cases being filed and the fact that few liabilities are ever repaid by debtors makes personal bankruptcy an important policy issue.A rough estimate of annual losses by creditors in personal bankruptcy cases suggests that lenders are losing up to fifteen billion dollars-($34,000)(450,000)-per year t

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