Making Sense of Nation-Level Bankruptcy Filing Rates

Abstract

Much of the developed world has experienced a similar pattern of spending, debt, and insolvency over the last twenty years. First, as national income and consumer spending rise, the level of consumer debt inevitably increases. When consumer debt becomes commonplace, the incidence of household financial distress rises, with burgeoning rates of insolvency not far behind. What once was a problem only for merchants and businesses quickly becomes a risk that confronts all classes of the populace, rich or poor. As this pattern has played out, financial distress and insolvency have become front-page