The Agglomeration of Bankruptcy
This paper identifies a new channel through which bankrupt firms impose negative externalities on non-bankrupt peers. The bankruptcy and liquidation of a retail chain weakens the economies of agglomeration in any given local area, reducing the attractiveness of retail centers for remaining stores leading to contagion of financial distress. We find that companies with greater geographic exposure to bankrupt retailers are more likely to close stores in affected areas. We further show that the effect of these externalities on non-bankrupt peers is higher when the affected stores are smaller and are operated by firms with poor financial health.
Non-Technical Summaries
- Bankrupt firms exert negative pressures on non-bankrupt neighbors. Economists have long studied how a vibrant cluster...
Published Versions
Efraim Benmelech & Nittai Bergman & Anna Milanez & Vladimir Mukharlyamov, 2019. "The Agglomeration of Bankruptcy," The Review of Financial Studies, vol 32(7), pages 2541-2586. citation courtesy of 
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