Private Bankruptcies in Austria

This project aims at a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of personal bankruptcy in Austria since its introduction in 1995. The vast majority of studies on personal bankruptcy refer to the USA, whereas the situation in Austria has been less researched. We focus on three research questions: (1) What is the importance of personal bankruptcy regulations and macroeconomic variables (e.g., unemployment) in explaining personal bankruptcies at the national and regional levels (e.g., provinces, districts) in Austria since 1995? (2) What is the importance of sociodemographic variables at the macro level (e.g., age structure, educational structure) and debt counselling in explaining personal bankruptcy numbers and procedural characteristics? (3) What effect did the ban on small-scale slot machine gambling have on personal bankruptcies in the affected states?