This paper assesses the impact of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a law mandating that banks help meet the credit needs of lower income borrowers and neighborhoods. To measure the law's effect on lending to targeted groups since 1994, I take advantage of discontinuous targeting rules and...

An important question arising out of the financial crisis is whether the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) played a significant role in the subprime mortgage boom and bust by pushing banks to make loans to risky borrowers

One of the major reasons hypothesized for the tepid economic recovery thus far is the ongoing "deleveraging" process. From 2009:Q3 to 2011:Q3, aggregate household debt declined by about $1.5 trillion in real terms, with mortgage debt falling by about $1 trillion. Other than defaults, the factors...

One of the major reasons hypothesized for the tepid economic recovery thus far is the ongoing “deleveraging” process. From 2009:Q3 to 2011:Q3, aggregate household debt declined by about $1.5 trillion in real terms, with mortgage debt falling by about $1 trillion. Other than defaults, the...