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Papers Containing Keywords(s): 'bankrupt'

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  • Working Paper

    Analysis of Young Small Firms That Have Closed: Delineating Successful from Unsuccessful Closures

    October 2002

    Authors: Timothy Bates

    Working Paper Number:

    CES-02-24

    This study of small businesses created between 1989 and 1992, and then closed down between 1993 and 1996, reveals that owners often described their firms as 'successful' when the disclosure decision was made. . Theoretical explanations consistent with this pattern are explored in this study. One view describes successful closures as rational outcomes of learning processes undertaken by entrepreneurs opening firms amidst considerable uncertainty. Another approach sees the seeming paradox of successful closure in terms of alternative opportunities: if something better comes along, the entrepreneur may close down. Empirically, successful closure owners are found to be moving on to more attractive alternatives.
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  • Working Paper

    Efficiency of Bankrupt Firms and Industry Conditions: Theory and Evidence

    October 1996

    Working Paper Number:

    CES-96-12

    We show that the incentives to reorganize inefficient firms and redeploy their assets depend on the change in industry output and industry characteristics. We use plant-level data to investigate the productivity of Chapter 11 bankrupt firms and asset-sale and closure decisions. We find no evidence of bankruptcy costs in industries with declining output growth, where most bankruptcies occur. In declining industries, bankrupt firms' plants are not less productive than industry averages and do not decline in productivity while in Chapter 11. In these industries, Chapter 11 appears to be a mechanism for fostering exit of capacity. In high-growth industries, there is some limited evidence of productivity declines while in Chapter 11 for a subsample of firms that remain in Chapter 11 for four or more years. Examining asset sales and closures by bankrupt firms and their competitors, we find that Chapter 11 status is of limited importance in predicting these decisions once industry and plant characteristics are taken into account. More generally, the findings imply that Chapter 11 may involve few real economic costs, and that industry effects and sample selection issues are very important in evaluating the performance of bankrupt firms.
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