Bankruptcy

The Case for Relief in an Economy of Debt

Joseph Spooner

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781107166943
• eBook ISBN: 9781316731321
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Corporate Law
• Index: Law

A decade after the Global Financial Crisis and Great Recession, developed economies continue to struggle under excessive household debt. While exacerbating inequality and political unrest, this debt - when combined with wage stagnation and a shrinking welfare state - has played a key role in maintaining economic growth and allowing households faced with rising costs of living to make ends meet. In Bankruptcy: The Case for Relief in an Economy of Debt, Joseph Spooner examines this economic model and finds it increasingly unsustainable. In a call to action to reduce debt burden, he turns to bankruptcy law, which is uniquely situated as a mechanism of social insurance against the risks of a debt-dependent economy. This book should be read by anyone interested in understanding the problem of consumer debt and how best to address it.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Financialised Capitalism and the Centrality of Household Debt
• 3 Consumer Bankruptcy Theory and the Case for Debt Relief
• 4 A Consumer Bankruptcy Marketplace
• 5 The Limits of Contractual Consumer Bankruptcy
• 6 The Austere Creditor: Austerity, Bankruptcy Policy and Government Debt Collection
• 7 Moral Hazard and Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention
• 8 Conclusion
• Index