Social Influence and the Consumer Bankruptcy Decision
January 2017
Working Paper Number:
CES-17-60
Abstract
I examine the influence of neighbors on the consumer bankruptcy decision using administrative bankruptcy records linked the 2000 Decennial Census. Two empirical strategies remove unobserved common factors that affect identification. The first strategy uses small geographical areas to isolate neighborhood effects, and the second strategy identifies the effect using past bankruptcy filers who moved states. The findings from
both strategies reinforce each other and confirm the role of social influence on the bankruptcy decision. Having a past bankruptcy filer move into the block from a different state increases the likelihood of filing by 10 percent.
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:
social,
financial,
state,
bankruptcy,
rural,
debt,
locality,
bankrupt,
district,
neighborhood,
credit,
resident,
filing,
neighbor,
creditor
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Ordinary Least Squares,
Decennial Census,
Protected Identification Key,
Federal Statistical Research Data Center
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