Security design, which broadly speaking deals with the issue of designing optimal
contractual mechanisms for overcoming various frictions between agents, is the subject of …

In legal systems with expensive or ineffective contract enforcement, it is difficult to induce
lenders to enforce debt contracts. If lenders do not enforce, borrowers will have incentives to …

We use a unique data set to study how UK banks deal with financially distressed small and
medium-sized companies under a 'contractualist'bankruptcy system. Unlike in the US, these …

The recent financial crisis has shown that short-term collateralized borrowing may be a
highly unstable source of funds in times of stress. In this paper, we develop a dynamic …

This paper studies the presence of hedge funds in the Chapter 11 process and their effects
on bankruptcy outcomes. Hedge funds strategically choose positions in the capital structure …

Multiple banking is a common characteristic of the corporate lending, particularly of medium-
sized and large firms. However, if the firms are facing distress, multiple lenders may have …

We investigate the impact of bankruptcy codes on firms' capital-structure choices. We
develop a theoretical model to identify how firm characteristics may interact with the …

Faced with a systemic financial sector crisis, policymakers need to make difficult choices
under pressure. Based on the experience of many countries in recent years, few have been …

This paper explores cross-country differences in the design of insolvency regimes, based on
quantitative indicators constructed from countries' responses to a recent OECD policy …

This paper develops an analytical framework to identify the policies relevant for firm exit and
the channels through which they shape aggregate productivity growth. A range of potentially …