CREAT: Census Research Exploration and Analysis Tool

Papers written by Author(s): 'Emanuele Colonnelli'

The following papers contain search terms that you selected. From the papers listed below, you can navigate to the PDF, the profile page for that working paper, or see all the working papers written by an author. You can also explore tags, keywords, and authors that occur frequently within these papers.
Click here to search again

Viewing papers 1 through 2 of 2


  • Working Paper

    Bankruptcy Spillovers

    January 2017

    Working Paper Number:

    CES-17-16

    How do different bankruptcy approaches affect the local economy? Using U.S. Census microdata at the establishment level, we explore the spillover effects of reorganization and liquidation on geographically proximate firms. We exploit the random assignment of bankruptcy judges as a source of exogenous variation in the probability of liquidation. We find that within a five year period, employment declines substantially in the immediate neighborhood of the liquidated establishments, relative to reorganized establishments. Most of the decline is due to lower growth of existing establishments and, to a lesser extent, reduced entry into the area. The spillover effects are highly localized and concentrate in the non-tradable and service sectors, particularly when the bankrupt firm operates in the same sector. These results suggest that liquidation leads to a reduction in consumer traffic to the local area and to a decline in knowledge spillovers between firms. The evidence is inconsistent with the notion that liquidation leads to creative destruction, as the removal of bankrupt businesses does not lead to increased entry nor the revitalization of the area.
    View Full Paper PDF
  • Working Paper

    Asset Allocation in Bankruptcy

    February 2016

    Working Paper Number:

    CES-16-13

    This paper investigates the consequences of liquidation and reorganization on the allocation and subsequent utilization of assets in bankruptcy. We identify 129,000 bankrupt establishments and construct a novel dataset that tracks the occupancy, employment and wages paid at real estate assets over time. Using the random assignment of judges to bankruptcy cases as a natural experiment that forces some firms into liquidation, we find that even after accounting for reallocation, the long-run utilization of assets of liquidated firms is lower relative to assets of reorganized firms. These effects are concentrated in thin markets with few potential users, in areas with low access to finance, and in areas with low economic growth. The results highlight that different bankruptcy approaches affect asset allocation and utilization particularly when search frictions and financial frictions are present.
    View Full Paper PDF