This paper shows, for the first time, how liquidity infusions from government bailouts affect loan modification in the mortgage market. The design of the Pooling and Service Agreement leads mortgage servicers to prefer foreclosure to modification when the servicers are liquidity constrained....

This paper examines relational contracts (RCs) in the housing market that exist between lenders and appraisers. We document that 42% of appraisals are at or near the contract value, while only 7.5% are below the contract. We develop an RC model and test several predictions using a novel data set...

Higher sales tax in the home country relative to a neighboring country creates a huge incentive for consumers who live closer to the border to purchase goods across the border. Using a unique panel dataset of consumer financial transactions, we find that, when facing higher domestic sales tax,...