This survey discusses recent contributions to the quantitative literature on unsecured
consumer debt and default, and some ongoing challenges for the literature. Key topics …

We study, theoretically and quantitatively, the general equilibrium of an economy in which
households smooth consumption by means of both a riskless asset and unsecured loans …

We empirically establish that unemployed individuals maintain significant access to credit
and that upon a layoff, the unconstrained borrow while the constrained default and delever …

Personal bankruptcies in the United States have increased dramatically, rising from 1.4 per
thousand working age adults in 1970 to 8.5 in 2002. We use a heterogeneous agent life …

Many individuals simultaneously have significant credit card debt and money in the bank.
The credit card debt puzzle is as follows: given high interest rates on credit cards and low …

What is the role of credit scores in credit markets? We argue that it is, in part, the market's
assessment of a person's unobservable type, which here we take to be patience. We …

Financial innovations are a common explanation for the rise in credit card debt and
bankruptcies. To evaluate this story, we develop a simple model that incorporates two key …

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Important changes have occurred in unsecured credit markets over the past three decades.
Most prominently, there have been large increases in aggregate consumer debt, the …

The widespread use of debt and default suggests that unsecured credit markets play an
important role in consumption smoothing. In this paper, I address two previously …