We connect three disparate facts associated with the spike in innovation in securitized mortgages before the 2007-09 crisis: a) elevated innovation in MBS collateral associated with greater loan purchases by MBS issuers (“sponsors”), b) an economically large proportion of delinquencies...

This is a Powerpoint presentation. The full article is also available on ssrn at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1924831U.S. policymakers often treat market competition as a panacea. However, in the case of mortgage securitization, policymakers' faith in competition is misplaced. Competitive mortgage...

U.S. policymakers often treat market competition as a panacea. However, in the case of mortgage securitization, policymakers' faith in competition is misplaced. Competitive mortgage securitization has been tried three times in U.S. history - during the 1880s, the 1920s, and the 2000s - and every...

While the real effects of bank competition is a classic topic in the finance literature, there has been relatively little research studying the effect it might have on local labor markets. In this paper, I utilize county level data and an exogenous shock to competition supplied by DOJ antitrust...

This paper shows that a decrease in bank competition negatively affects local labor markets. Using bank mergers and anti-trust policy to obtain quasi-exogenous variation, I find that a 5% increase in county level bank concentration leads to a 6% decrease in small business lending, followed by a...

This informal paper explores models of competitive insurance market equilibrium when individuals of initially similar apparent risk experience divergence in risk levels over time. The information structure is modeled in three alternative ways: all insurers and insureds know risk at any point in...

In mortgage debt contracts, real property serves as collateral and the terms of mortgage financing are largely conditional on the certification of collateral value by appraisers. However, overstatement of collateral value is common in the appraisal industry, causing troubles in the mortgage...

This article presents a model in which, contrary to conventional wisdom, competi- tion can make banks more reluctant to take excessive risks: As competition intensifies and margins decline, banks face more-binding threats of failure, to which they may respond by reducing their risk-taking. Yet,...

Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, as well as Twitter – the FANG companies – have transformed society with both positive and negative effects. Soaring consumer access to information, news, social networks, and entertainment has been stimulated by the ever-more ubiquitous and falling...