The subprime mortgage crisis ranks among the most serious economic events affecting the United States since the great depression of the 1930s. This study analyzes key issues raised by the crisis at three levels: (i) issues directly and specifically relating to subprime mortgage lending; (ii)...

This paper examines various explanations for the increase in the degree of regulation of the auto industry in the last ten years. Using cross section data for the State of California, the paper confirms earlier findings for the State of Massachusetts that the demand for auto insurance is highly...

This paper models and provides empirical evidence for the quality of assets that are securitized through bankruptcy remote special purpose vehicles (SPVs). The model predicts that assets sold to SPVs will be of lower quality (“lemons”) compared to assets that are not sold to SPVs. We find...

This paper evaluates a current policy proposal to limit the size of the retained mortgage portfolios held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (hereafter Famp;F). The proposal is a response to the growing concerns that the interest rate risks contained in the Famp;F portfolios create a serious threat...

Larry White has created a highly useful paper that clearly lays out the reasons to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Famp;F) and offers a roadmap for doing so. I agree fully with the goal and his reasons for it, although below I will indicate I have a different perspective on how best to...

One of the primary results of studying asymmetric information as part of information economics over the last 30 years has been a theory of markets for lemons - that is, markets for goods that are likely to be of poor quality. Unfortunately, it has proven difficult to directly test the lemons...

Factors that hinder the development of mortgage markets in transition economies and a proposed strategy to expedite their development.The transformation of the planned economies of central and eastern Europe to market economies has focused on economic stabilization and liberalization,...

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the relation between energy factor markets, leasing structures, and the transaction prices of office buildings in the U.S. We employ a large sample of 15,133 office building transactions between 2001 and 2010. In addition to building characteristics,...