Leading Academic Experts to Examine Burgeoning Debt Levels at Symposium Sponsored by ABI and the University of Illinois
Leading Academic Experts to Examine Burgeoning Debt Levels at Symposium Sponsored by ABI and the University of Illinois
LEADING
ACADEMIC EXPERTS TO EXAMINE BURGEONING DEBT LEVELS AT SYMPOSIUM
SPONSORED BY
January 24, 2008 Alexandria, Va. —Leading U.S. and international scholars will gather to
examine the phenomenon of debt at “A Debtor World:
Interdisciplinary Academic Symposium on Debt,” sponsored by the
American Bankruptcy Institute (
Americans have committed
their future cash flows at an unprecedented rate as there is almost
$30,000 outstanding in consumer credit and home mortgages for every man,
woman and child in the United States, according to the latest figures
from the Federal Reserve. Even on an inflation-adjusted basis, that
represents a thirteen-fold increase since 1946 when the figure was only
$2,200. Also, business debt is nine times as large as it was in 1946.
The phenomenon of rising debt levels is not confined to the
The purpose of the Debt Symposium is to take a scholarly examination of debt as a phenomenon, rather than as a problem or solution. It will feature leading U.S. and international scholars who have written about debt or issues related to debt in a wide range of academic disciplines such as sociology, psychology, history, philosophy, law, neuroscience, business, economics, finance, strategic management and organizational theory.
Scholars scheduled to present papers and speak at the symposium include Terry Halliday of the American Bar Foundation, Prof. Heidi Hurd of the University of Illinois (Philosophy and Law), Prof. Brian Knutson of Stanford University (Neuroscience), Prof. Stephen Lea of Exeter University (Psychology), Prof. Gerry McNamara of Michigan State University (Management), Prof. Craig Muldrew of Queens College of Cambridge (History), Prof. George Ritzer of the University of Maryland (Sociology), Prof. Amir Sufi of the University of Chicago, (Business), Prof. Teresa Sullivan of the University of Michigan (Sociology), Prof. Paul Vaaler of the University of Minnesota (Management), Prof. Elizabeth Warren of Harvard University (Law) and Prof. Richard Wiener of the University of Nebraska (Psychology).
Please visit http://www.abiworld.org/Debt08/for more information on the Debt Symposium. If you are a member
of the press and would like to attend the symposium, please
contact
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