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Personal Bankruptcy Law, Wealth and Entrepreneurship: Theory and Evidence from the Introduction of a "Fresh Start"

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  • Frank M. Fossen
Abstract
A personal bankruptcy law that allows for a "fresh start" after bankruptcy reduces the individual risk involved in entrepreneurial activity. On the other hand, as risk shifts to creditors who recover less of their credit after a debtor's bankruptcy, lenders may charge higher interest rates or ration credit supply, which can hamper entrepreneurship. Both aspects of a more forgiving personal bankruptcy law are less relevant for wealthy potential entrepreneurs who still risk losing their wealth, but tend not to face higher interest rates because they provide collateral. This paper illustrates these effects in a model and tests the hypotheses derived by exploiting the introduction of a "fresh start" policy in Germany in 1999 as a natural experiment, based on representative household panel data. The results indicate that the insurance effect of a more forgiving personal bankruptcy law exceeds the interest effect and on balance encourages less wealthy individuals to enter into entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank M. Fossen, 2011. "Personal Bankruptcy Law, Wealth and Entrepreneurship: Theory and Evidence from the Introduction of a "Fresh Start"," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1100, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1100
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Dr. Petra Gerlach & Seán Lyons, 2015. "Mortgage arrears in Europe: The impact of monetary and macroprudential policies," Working Papers 2015-05, Swiss National Bank.
    2. Iain Ramsay, 2012. "Between Neo-Liberalism and the Social Market: Approaches to Debt Adjustment and Consumer Insolvency in the EU," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 421-441, December.
    3. Giacomo Corneo, 2013. "A Note on the Taxation of Couples Under Income Uncertainty," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 69(1), pages 129-134, March.
    4. Michael Fritsch & Alexander S. Kritikos & Alina Sorgner, 2015. "Why did self-employment increase so strongly in Germany?," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(5-6), pages 307-333, June.
    5. Schöb, Ronnie & Thum, Marcel, 2011. "Job protection renders minimum wages less harmful," Discussion Papers 2011/14, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    6. Michael Fritsch & Alexander Kritikos & Alina Sorgner, 2013. "Drivers of Self-Employment - A Multivariate Decomposition Analysis for the Case of Germany," Jena Economics Research Papers 2013-006, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Personal bankruptcy law; insolvency; entrepreneurship; fresh start;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K35 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Personal Bankruptcy Law
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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