How Does Bankruptcy Law Impact the Elderly’s Business and Housing Decisions?
研究利用健康与退休调查数据，分析州级住房豁免额变化对老年人住房权益和商业所有权的影响，发现豁免额增加总体上促进住房权益和商业拥有，但在无限豁免州则因信贷约束而抑制。
The elderly are the population most likely to file for bankruptcy, with filings increasing by 150 percent from 1991 to 2007. This is likely because they live with relatively flat incomes and high medical expenses, and their retirement and housing assets are typically exempt from bankruptcy filings. In addition, nine states adopted higher asset exemptions specifically for the elderly. Using the Health and Retirement Study and recent state-by-time variation in homestead exemptions, we are the first to test whether the benefits of partial wealth insurance or the cost of supply-side credit constraints are predominant for the elderly. Using pooled cross-sectional analysis, we find that an increase in a state’s homestead exemption increases the elderly’s home equity and business ownership; however, the credit constraint is dominant in unlimited-exemption states, which decreases home and business ownership. Panel analysis reveals that an increase in the homestead exemption positively affects home ownership rates and home equity.