The Determinants of Attitudes towards Strategic Default on Mortgages

We use survey data to study American households’ propensity to default when the value of their mortgage exceeds the value of their house even if they can afford to pay their mortgage (strategic default). The cost of defaulting strategically increases in wealth, but at a decreasing rate. It is driven both by pecuniary and non pecuniary factors, such as views about fairness and morality. Exposure to other people who strategically defaulted increases the propensity to default strategically because it conveys information about the probability of being sued. An earlier version of this paper circulated with the title “Moral and Social Constraints to Strategic Default on Mortgages.” We would like to thank the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Kellogg School of Management for financial support in establishing and maintaining the Chicago Booth Kellogg School Financial Trust Index. Luigi Guiso is grateful to PEGGED for financial support. We thank Campbell Harvey (editor), Amir Sufi, two anonymous referee and seminar participants at the University of Chicago and New York University for very useful suggestions, Gabriella Santangelo for excellent research assistantship, and Peggy Eppink for editorial help.