Perhaps the most common American experience today is debt. While debt can enable individuals and companies to do useful things they would otherwise be unable to do, excessive debt can cause serious financial problems for individuals, businesses and society at large. Debt is pervasive in the U.S. today. According to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve, there is almost $30,000 outstanding in consumer credit and home mortgages for every man, woman, and child in the United States. Even on an inflation-adjusted basis, that represents a thirteen-fold increase since 1946 when the figure was only $2,200. There are 900 million credit cards in circulation in the United States. Debt growth has not been restricted to consumers. Business debt is nine times as large as it was in 1946. Put simply, Americans have committed their future cash flows at an unprecedented rate.

Increasing debt loads are not just an American trend. Other countries have experienced burgeoning levels of private debt. In the past decade, the United States consumer credit model has been exported to other countries. Japan, Korea, and many western European countries have seen consumer debt levels skyrocket. Globalization surely will see high consumer debt levels spread to many other countries.

The Conference Goal

This conference explored debt as neither a problem nor solution but as a phenomenon. Many different academic disciplines can make important contributions to help us understand why consumers and businesses decide to borrow money, what happens to businesses and consumers under a heavy debt load, and what norms and institutions societies need to encourage the efficient use of debt. Much of this knowledge is compartmentalized into intellectual silos that are rarely cross-fertilized. The goal of the conference was to promote the sharing of this knowledge.

The Conference Speakers

The conference featured 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. For detailed bios of the speakers click here.

The Conference Format
The conference was held May 2-3, 2008 at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.  Each of the principal speakers presented a provocative paper on a topic related to the incurrence, the collateral effects, or the resolution of debt (including resolution through bankruptcy, insolvency, or financial distress). Invited commentators from a similarly diverse range of disciplines offer ed thoughts in reaction to each paper presentation and moderated an ensuing discussion. The result was an extremely high quality discourse at the podium and in the audience and presented new insight into the phenomenon of debt today. Attendees came from the fields of law, business, financial, academia and the press. The conference papers ultimately were collected in an edited volume for publication through an academic press.

The keynote speaker was James Scurlock, producer of the critically acclaimed 2006 documentary "Maxed Out." The film takes viewers on a journey deep inside the American style of debt where things seem fine as long as the minimum monthly payment arrives on time. With coverage that spans from small American towns all the way to the White House, the film shows how the modern financial industry really works. At times hilarious, at times deeply disturbing, Maxed Out forces us to face the consequences of our national debt addiction. Scurlock's follow up print work: "Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders" was published last year and further highlights the dilemma of pervasive debt in our society.

Success of the conference was judged by the interaction that came at the conference and in the years that follow. It would be foolish to think that one conference will tear down the walls that have compartmentalized academic knowledge. This conference, however, might at least punch a few holes in those walls, and we invite you to be a part of this extraordinary event.