GGD-99-103 Personal Bankruptcy: Analysis of Four Reports on Chapter 7 Debtors' Ability to Pay

Compares and evaluates the methodologies used by 4 reports on bankruptcy debtors' ability to pay their debts -- 2 by Ernest and Young under the sponsorship of VISA and MasterCard, one by Creighton Univ. under the sponsorship of the Amer. Bankruptcy Inst., and one by the Exec. Office for U.S. Trustees. These reports address the amount of income that those who file for personal bankruptcy have available to pay their debts. Specifically, this report evaluates and compares each report's research methodology for estimating the number of bankruptcy debtors who would be able to pay a portion of their debts and the amount of debt such debtors could pay. Tables.