Despite recent volatility and constraints in secondary market funding, analysts have ascribed substantial value creation to the securitization of commercial mortgages. Such value creation likely emanates from liquidity enhancements, regulatory arbitrage, price discrimination and risk...

This paper estimates an option-based hazard model of the competing risks of FHA mortgage termination. Results indicate that the elevated default risks of loans originated among lower credit-quality and minority borrowers are more than offset by the damped prepayment speeds of those loans, so as...

This research presents new findings on the economic cost of terror. To that end, we provide evidence of changes in house prices in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem in the wake of the 2000 Second Palestinian Intifada. During that period, Gilo suffered from sporadic and ongoing gunfire from the...

This research employs data from a natural experiment to assess the effects of behavioral heuristics on housing choice and public program management. The analysis focuses on programs designed to privatize public housing in Israel. The government programs provided the tenants with a call (real)...

Fluctuations in the stock market and in house values over the course of recent years have led to renewed macroeconomic policy debate as regards the effects of financial and housing wealth in the determination of consumer spending. This research assembles a unique matched sample of household data...