Debt, risk and forgiveness: Behavioural approaches to personal insolvency law

Personal insolvency is a widespread mechanism to provide debt relief to overburdened individuals. Despite its prevalence, decision-making in personal insolvency is not well understood. This thesis employs innovative behavioural approaches to explore i) concepts and methods best suited to empirically examine personal insolvency decisions, ii) the way in which individuals choose between available personal insolvency options, iii) the effects of public attitudes towards these options, and iv) the role of personal insolvency’s public records in incentivising desirable behaviours. In doing so, this thesis contributes novel methodological approaches and addresses key public policy issues in the regulation of personal insolvency law.