Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/55160 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 646
Publisher: 
Queen Mary University of London, Department of Economics, London
Abstract: 
We provide a model with endogenous portfolios of secured and unsecured household debt. Secured debt is collateralized by durables whereas unsecured debt can be discharged in bankruptcy procedures. We show that the model matches the main quantitative characteristics of observed wealth and debt portfolios in the US and some of the observed changes over time. Furthermore, we establish two quantitative results. Firstly, modest levels of risk aversion are necessary to match observed debt portfolios. Secondly, durables do not improve consumers' access to unsecured credit, and plausible variations of durable exemptions in bankruptcy procedures have very small effects on the equilibrium.
Subjects: 
household debt portfolios
durables
collateral
income risk
bankruptcy
JEL: 
E21
D91
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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