Misfortune or Misdeed: An Empirical Study of Public Attitudes Towards Personal Bankruptcy

Abstract

While the field of bankruptcy scholarship is well established, there has so far been very little scholarly investigation of the social context in which bankruptcy occurs. Scholars, politicians and other commentators tend to discuss this subject under the rubric of ‘bankruptcy stigma’. Yet these discussions generally draw upon interviews with debtors, or other indirect indicators of public opinion, such as newspaper articles. They are seldom based upon surveys or interviews with members of the public.