News Topic: Historical Perspectives

I have a new paper up on SSRN . It's called  The New Usury: The Ability-to-Repay Revolution in Consumer Finance . It's a paper that's been percolating a while--some folks might remember seeing me present it (virtually) at the 2020 Consumer ... Read full article

I have posted a short draft article about mass tort bankruptcy . If you would like to send me comments on the draft, that would be lovely, but please keep two caveats in mind. First, I must submit the revisions by February 9. Second, the article must not ... Read full article

I cannot tell you what to think abou ... Read full article

Just wanted to make sure Credit Slips readers were aware of this virtual event at noon Eastern/3 Pacific on February 28. Bonus: a link to a masterful analysis of the topic by Professor Elizabeth Gibson that the Federal Judicial Center published in 2005. ... Read full article

I just read a really fabulous annotated bibliography of books (alas, articles by such luminaries as Emily Kadens are excluded) on the history of credit, debt, and bankruptcy in the United States. Many of my favorites are on here, along with a few new ... Read full article

Another quick announcement that I have posted a draft essay on some under explored intersections between big business bankruptcy and big shocks  here.  The abstract is short, yes, but so is the essay. It also discusses ice cream. Thanks for reading!  ... Read full article

The Deal has a new podcast ... Read full article

Mark Weidemaier and I have talked about antique Chinese (mostly Imperial) debt often on this site.  And we've also discussed these debts on our podcast with sovereign debt gurus Tracy Alloway and Lee Buchheit ( here ).  Yes, we are a bit obsessed. ... Read full article

Following-up on my prior post , let’s talk more about what’s at stake in this little legislative kerfuffle in the Hawkeye state, as well as how consumer advocates should seize on this moment in a different way.   ... Read full article

A fun new book applies a revealing Law & Order analysis to the multi-billion-dollar, knock-down-drag-out reorganization of Caesar's Palace. ... Read full article

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FT Alphaville has had a long line of quirky and brilliant reporters over the years, something that I've always enjoyed (Joseph Cotterill, Tracy Alloway, Colby Smith, Cardiff Garcia and more). And I've especially liked the pieces that do deep ... Read full article

I’m just getting around to reading a 2014 book some Creditslips readers may be familiar with, Debt: The First 5000 Years. In this utterly fascinating work, Anthropologist David Graeber exhaustively recounts the history of debt and money. He begins by ... Read full article

My new book,  The Great American Housing Bubble:  What Went Wrong and How We Can Protect Ourselves in the Future  is being released on Tuesday by Harvard University Press. The book is co-authored with my long-time collaborator, Wharton real estate ... Read full article

My coauthor Ed Balleisen has co-founded a program on consumer lending of interest to Credit Slips readers. Its initial data collection is particularly useful in documenting the North Carolina experience and its implications for other states. ... Read full article

Roughly eighty years ago, Lon Fuller and William Perdue (the former, then a faculty member at Duke Law, and the latter, a 3L), wrote two of the most famous articles in contract law ( here ). One of the puzzles they posed -- about why the law favors the ... Read full article

Concentrating on just about anything during these days of the coronavirus, let alone academic writing, has been a trifle difficult these.  A splendid new paper on Boer Bonds by Kim Oosterlinck and Marie Van Gansbeke ( here ) did, however, get me focused ... Read full article

Senator Elizabeth Warren has put out a plan for mitigating the economic fallout from the coronavirus. ... Read full article