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Crisis and Bankruptcy: The Mediating Role of State Law, 1920–1932

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2012

MARY ESCHELBACH HANSEN  and
BRADLEY A. HANSEN
MARY ESCHELBACH HANSEN*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, 127 Kreeger Hall, Washington, DC 20016-8029. E-mail: mhansen@american.edu.
BRADLEY A. HANSEN*
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Economics, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5300. E-mail: bhansen@umw.edu.
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Abstract

The onset of the Great Depression did not spark a surge in personal bankruptcy. For debtors in default, state garnishment law played a significant role in the decision to file for bankruptcy. Only states that made it easy to garnish a debtor's wages experienced significant increases in bankruptcy as a consequence of the Depression.

Type
ARTICLES
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 72 , Issue 2 , 30 May 2012 , pp. 448 - 468
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 2012

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