Regional Differences in Chapter 13 Filings: Southern Legal Culture or Religion?

Chapter 7 is designed for debtors who do not have the ability to pay their existing debts and many times leads to a legal release of most debt. Chapter 13 is designed for debtors who have the ability to pay all or part of their debts in installments over a period of time. Bankruptcy research finds that the southern region of the USA has a significantly higher portion of Chapter 13 filings than the rest of the country, unexplainable by quantifiable demographic, legal, or economic differences. Our results suggest that religion is the driving force behind the abnormally high Chapter 13 filings in the southern USA.