I am Deborah Thorne, professor of Sociology at University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. I teach courses in economic inequality, law, research methods, deviant behavior, and introduction to sociology.

Over the span of my 25-year career, economic inequality generally, and debt and consumer bankruptcy specifically, have been at the core of my research agenda. More specifically, my area of research expertise is consumer bankruptcy, which I have been studying since the mid-1990s. I have served as a principal investigator on the nationally recognized Consumer Bankruptcy Project (CBP) for the past 20 years or so.

I have authored and co-authored numerous articles and book chapters on elder bankruptcy, medical debt and bankruptcy, effects of severe debt on couples’ relationships, stigma associated with bankruptcy, financial health following bankruptcy, social mobility, gender, and financial education. My co-authored book, Debt’s Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy, will be published in August 2025. As a recognized expert on the subject of consumer bankruptcy, I have been interviewed by numerous media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Salon Magazine, USA Today, National Public Radio, CNN, and ABC World News.